Shadow Travel and Things
by flyingoverlondon
Summary: SPOILERS FOR HOUSE OF HADES. Nico gets out accidentally, and things get a little crazy afterwards. Also, someone might have a baby. And Leo likes the Backstreet Boys. Valdangelo/Percabeth/Percico/Jasper/Caleo/Frazel.
1. Shadow Travel and Things

Jason

Nico di Angelo sat on the floor of the unoccupied stables belowdeck in the _Argo II. _Jason sat across from him, and the door was shut. Every single word exchanged was either carefully thought out, or the result of pain and tension that had been building up for years. Most of the thought out words were coming from Jason, and the rugged words cut with pain came from Nico.

Nico di Angelo wasn't one to cry, but tears slipped from his dark eyes down his pale face. Jason pretended that he didn't notice.

"Just... when they came back. It was... I couldn't... she... they..." Nico trailed off, unable to form a thought. Jason looked upon his friend (or potential friend if Nico ever decided to accept Jason) with pity. He didn't understand how Nico felt, but he knew that Nico was tearing apart inside.

Nico loved Percy. Sure, the words "Love" and "Nico" don't generally go together in a sentence, and Nico had never actually said that he loved Percy. However, Nico had admitted to having a crush on him in the past, and seeing as Cupid mentioned that the person Nico cared about most had been sent to Tatarus, who could that person be but Percy, and what could caring about someone above all others be but love? Now that Percy and Annabeth were back from Tatarus and safely aboard the _Argo II, _seeing them together was too much for Nico.

Nico cried and talked about Percy to Jason, and Jason listened and tried not to pry. The whole situation was awfully difficult for Jason, but that was okay, seeing as Nico needed Jason now more than ever. The demigod had fought monsters and seen the Underworld, but nothing had ever hurt him as much as watching Percy Jackson be in love with Annabeth Chase.

Percy

Percy walked belowdeck in the _Argo II _looking for Riptide. Usually, the sword always reappeared in his pocket. Now, however, he was wearing boxer shorts and a blue T-shirt, and had no pocket for Riptide to reappear into. Sure, the obvious solution would be to put some pants on. But Hazel and Frank were near the sleeping quarters where the extra clothes were, and Percy really didn't want to inturrupt them, seeing as they were obviously really into eachother. Plus, he was in his boxer shorts. (Hey, it wasn't his fault. Festus the happy dragon had burned his pants off while everyone else was eating, and Percy had been lucky enough to put out the fire, but unlucky enough to lose his sword and get lost wandering the _Argo II _in his boxers.)

As Percy wandered below the big ship among all of the humming machinery and weird rooms he hadn't explored, he began to hear what sounded like voices coming from the stables. He paused. It took a while for his ears to adjust, but eventually he heard what sounded like... his name?

He moved closer to the stables and pressed his ear to the door.

"...it's not weird. It's unique, and it's you. Do what you think is right. If you love Percy Jackson, that's you. It's all you."

Percy was confused. Was that Jason's voice? And who aboard the Argo II could possibly love him? Hazel loved Frank, Piper loved Jason, and Annabeth loved him, which he already knew. The only people left were Festus, Leo, and Nico. Now that Percy thought about it, Festus did keep eyeing him. That dragon was definitely hot for him.

A second voice came from the stables, this one shaky and miserable.

"But... it's not okay. Percy has a girlfriend. I'm really jealous of Annabeth, in fact I almost depise her, but I also look up to her. It doesn't feel right. I feel like I'm betraying both of them. And I'm different, as always."

Instantly, Percy tensed up. He was _not _supposed to be hearing this conversation. But he couldn't move. He knew that that voice was Nico's. But Nico wasn't...

_Oh Gods_, Percy thought. _I should have noticed that pause in the conversation_.

There was a waiting silence from within the stable. Percy knew that they could hear someone at the door, and he knew that he had to get away from the stable as fast as possible. But as soon as he took a step away from the door, it opened from the other side. He found himself staring into Jason's cold, angry eyes.

Inside of the stable, Nico fell against the wall and curled into a ball, looking sick, refusing to look at Percy.

"How much did you hear, Jackson?" Jason demanded.

"I... uh... just... I didn't mean..." Percy stammered.

Jason looked back at Nico, who timidly stared back at Jason, and Percy could feel his hopelessness from across the room.

"So you heard enough, then." Jason shook his head.

Nico sat up and looked at Percy. Percy had seen many terrifying situations, but never had he seen pure terror on someone's face until now.

Jason and Percy stared at eachother for a long time, until it was broken by an unexpected sound; Nico's voice.

"Jason, I think Percy and I need to talk," Nico said. His voice rippled like a pond, and Percy could tell there were tears that Nico was trying to keep inside.

Jason nodded sympathetically and vanished to the upper decks, leaving Percy and Nico alone in almost complete silence except for the humming of machinery that Leo seemed to love. Leo was always talking about how he could communicate with machinery, and Percy wished that he could ask the weird machines how to handle this. But Percy was alone on this one, and he was terrified that any wrong move could permanently damage his friend.

He decided to start casually.

"Mind if I join you?" He asked. He tried to sound calm, as if nothing were wrong, but his voice cracked. Really? The ghost of puberty's past chooses now to visit?

Nico shook his head. Percy entered the stable and sat next to the son of Hades.

"Nico, I think you're a cool guy."

Nico didn't answer him.

"There's really nothing wrong with this," Percy said.

Nico faced him. The look on his face almost said_ Really, ocean boy? That's the best thing you have to say?_

"You don't get it," Nico said. His voice was harsh, but Percy was relieved that he was speaking.

"You don't understand, Percy Jackson. Just because I..."

There was silence.

Nico

Nico trailed off. He had meant to say, _Just because I love you doesn't mean you can't hurt me. _But Nico realized that he couldn't tell Percy he loved him. Percy already knew, but that didn't help. The words wouldn't come out of his mouth.

Nico di Angelo was not gay. He didn't know what he was. Bisexual? Pansexual? Could he be gay? He didn't know. He had never had a crush on a girl in his life, but then again, he had never had a crush on a guy other than Percy either. Nico just wasn't exactly experienced in emotions. He always pushed them to the side and tried to forget about them. But Percy was an emotion that he couldn't forget about. Percy had kept him safe when he first came to Camp Half Blood and went on quests. He had looked after him and his sister, Bianca. Though he failed to keep Bianca alive, Nico forgave him. He knew he had tried his absolute best, and the failure would live with Percy forever. Unfortunately, forgiveness was another emotion Nico pushed aside. Mabye now would be a good time to change that.

"Bianca," he blurted out.

"What?" Percy asked cautiously. They were now treading on some seriously sensitive ground.

"Bianca," Nico said, thinking about his words. "You tried to protect her. Thank you."  
>Percy looked stunned. Nico went on.<p>

"I know you did what you could. And yes, I'm sad about my sister. I loved Bianca because she accepted me. But I also love, um..."

Nico trailed off again. Yet again, he had come to another moment to tell Percy how he felt, and yet again he had failed to get the point across.

Percy put a hand on Nicos shoulder, sending a rush that felt like all of Posiden's waves and all of Zeus's lightning bolts through his body and making his fingertips and toes tingle. He really loved Percy Jackson. He just couldn't tell him.

"I love you, too," said Percy.

Nico knew he didn't mean it romantically, and it broke him inside. Percy saw Nico as a friend, and though Percy's feeling towards Nico were kind and he meant the best, Nico wanted so much more. He felt like Percy Jackson was just out of his reach, and he wanted to scream.

The door opened. Of course Annabeth chose that moment to walk in.

Percy

_Good Gods, Annabeth, now?_ Percy thought.

His first instinct was to take Nico's hand. It was what he did to comfort people. When he had been stuck in Tatarus with Annabeth, he had held her hand for most of the journey, and it had made the both of them feel safer. But holding hands with Nico di Angelo was probably not the wisest move. He didn't want to get the guy's hopes up.

Annabeth stood in the doorway.

"What are you two love birds doing?" She asked lightheartedly, obviously unaware of the situation. Percy wanted to kick her, and he _never _wanted to kick Annabeth. But he wished she would shut up.

She wasn't getting Percy's hints, and she happily walked in and sat accross from them. Then she saw the tears on Nico's face. Her face fell.

"Oh, Nico, what's wrong?" Her voice was softer than the Hypnos cabin back at Camp Half Blood.

Percy wanted to crawl into a hole and avoid the whole situation. How could Annabeth be so unaware? She was acting blinder than she was when she had actually been blind in Tatarus.

He couldn't stop Annabeth So he did what he could and focused on comforting Nico. He ran his thumb across his hand, but Nico tensed up. Percy stopped but didn't pull his hand away. How long had it been since Nico had held hands with someone? Probably too long.

Percy and Nico looked at eachother. Nico sighed and leaned further into the wall, as if saying _Fine, tell her. Everyone already knows._

Nico

Nico knew that his chances with Percy had been low, but now they were, like, lower than the depths of Tatarus low. He just gave up. Right then and there, in the stables of the _Argo II. _He mentally bid Percy Jackson farewell.

Percy looked at Annabeth. "I'll tell you later," he said quietly. "But it's not public information."

Annabeth seemed to understand.

Still, Nico was engulfed in flames of dread. What if word got out, and they all rejected him? He already had trouble making friends. Not that he needed to be friends with demigods. People in the Underworld suited him just fine. Although, Percy Jackson was ten times better than anyone he had ever encountered in the Underworld... _Gods, _Nico thought, _I'm supposed to be over him._

Annabeth smiled at Nico and Percy, then stood and left.

Nico was left alone with his only two friends; the boy he loved (who was holding his hand), and guilt. Good.

Percy and Nico sat in silence for a while, until Percy spoke up.

"You know, Nico, nothing has to change."

Nico had assumed that Percy would try to say meaningless phrases that were meant to cheer him up, but when Percy said that nothing had to change, Nico could tell that he meant it. Even if Percy couldn't love him in the same way that Nico loved him, they could still be friends. Good. Nico really admired Percy.

Then Percy did something surprising. He kissed Nico's cheek. His nose touched the side of Nico's face. Nico blushed, which was new to him. Nico wasn't a blusher. He smiled a little, but tried not to. Wow, Nico was bad at these emotion things. He knew that Percy didn't love him romantically, but he also knew that Percy really cared about him, and that he was trying to make sure that Nico was okay.

Percy stood and offered Nico a hand, but Nico declined. Percy shrugged.

"Okay, well I'll see you later then," said Percy, as if nothing had happened. Nico was relieved. He didn't want his orientation to define him.

"See ya," said Nico.

Percy walked out of the stables and closed the door to give Nico some privacy.

Nico leaned back into the shadows, alone with his thoughts.

Maybe he couldn't have Percy Jackson, but hey, there were plenty of other fish in Posiden's great sea. Maybe there was another son of Posiden somewhere, waiting for him. Or maybe he was a son of Hecate. Or Ares. Or Hermes. Or Apollo. Maybe he wasn't even a demigod. Maybe he was a regular human. Maybe they wouldn't even be a guy; maybe Nico would fall for a girl. He didn't know. He didn't care. He felt reassured that he had worth, and that he wasn't hopeless. He had his whole life ahead of him to figure out his purpose and his feelings. Until then, he would stick to shadow travel and things.


	2. Masks and Secrets

The next morning, Jason, Percy, Nico, and Annabeth were acting strange. Something had happened the night before; or at least the others suspected something had happened.

Percy was obviously making an effort to be friends with everybody, but stared at his shoes between smiles. Jason seemed normal, except for the fact that he looked tired. He had obviously stayed up late. Annabeth kept studying Percy and Nico, as if there was something she thought they were hiding from her. And Nico was acting the strangest of all. He was _smiling. _Yes, the son of Hades smiled as he drank his pomegranate juice with his cheerios. That was another thing Nico never did; eat. He was eating, too. Despite the weirdness in the air, there was also a sense of serinity, like something had been resolved. Still, nobody could figure out what it was.

Leo

Leo watched Nico eat his cheerios. Dang, it was weird to see that guy in such a good mood.

"Hey cheery, how do you like those cheerios?" Leo asked, jabbing him in the side with the back of his spoon.

Nico winced, uncomfortable with physical contact. People obviously freaked him out, but he shrugged it off after a few moments and continued to happily eat his breakfast. It almost made Leo smile. If Nico was happy, everybody should be happy.

"Welp," Leo said, "We should be arriving at Camp Half Blood tomorrow."

"Finally," Hazel said bitterly, stabbing her fork into the table. Everyone stared at her. She looked up and realized how forceful she had sounded, and sheepishly smiled, tucking her cinnamon hair behind her ear.

"Sorry, guys," she said. "I've just been impatient to get off of this ship."

"Hey, come on, I worked hard on this thing!" Leo whined, slapping the table. Everyone grinned between mouthfuls of food. They were going home.

After breakfast, everyone dispersed belowdeck to get ready for the day. Coach Hedge took watch and Percy took Leo's place and went to help guide the ship, giving Leo enough time to ready himself for the day (for once). Leo was the last to leave breakfast, and he grabbed his army jacket and headed down to the sleeping quarters where he kept his extra clothes and toiletries. As he was walking belowdeck, he accidentally opened the wrong door and found himself in Frank's room, and instantly wanted to flee and run. Frank was sitting on the bed with Hazel sitting in his lap, and they were kissing like it was the last day they would ever live. Wow, for the quiet ones, they sure seemed aggressive.

Frank's eyes shot open and he quickly stood up, and Hazel fell from his lap onto the bed. She scrambled to get up, too.

Leo stumbled with his words. "I'm so sorry... I meant to open the other door, and I, um, I'll just be going now..." He awkwardly backed out of the room, Frank and Hazel both bright red and looking like they wanted to say something but couldn't.

Leo shut the door and ran to the end of the corridor, even though his room was right next to Frank's. He wanted to be far away from there. He leaned against the wall and squeezed his eyes shut, feeling horrible for intruding on his friends. His stomach felt tight.

The door next to him opened, and Nico di Angelo stood behind it with a toothbrush in his mouth and a quizzical look on his face.

"What's wrong?" He asked, but he said it through a mouthful of foaming toothpaste, and accidentally spat a little bit of it onto the floorboards.

Leo was still amazed that Nico was acting so cheery, and couldn't believe that he was actually initiating the conversation. Still, he was grateful, and quickly entered Nico's room, shutting the door behind him. He was sure he looked as flustered as he felt.

Nico went over to the little sink in his room and spat, then wiped his mouth on his arm.

"You look like you've seen a ghost," said Nico.

"Nah, but I'm sure you know all about that."

Nico nodded, as if to say _Fair enough. _

"So what _did_ you see, then?"

Leo sighed, not wanting to further ruin the privacy of his friends.

"I don't know if I should tell you," Leo responded.

"Okay, so will you be going now?" Nico asked seriously.

"What?"

"Well if you've got nothing to be hiding from, I don't see why you need to be in here." Nico's cheerful attitude was still there, but he was being passive agressive.

Leo sighed again and took a seat on Nico's bed. "I just need to stay in here until everyone else is done getting ready for the day."

"Okay," said Nico, sitting next to him, which was weird. Since when was Nico's body language friendly? "So who are you hiding from?"

Leo blinked. "What?"

Nico sighed, as if Leo were the most incompetent person he had ever come across.

"Come on, Leo. If I'm trying to avoid someone, I wait in here for everyone else to get ready. The fact that you're doing the same thing, added to the fact that you look terrified, seems to mean you're avoiding someone. Something just happened."

"You're one to talk," Leo huffed. "What happened last night that you won't tell anyone about?"

Nico pursed his lips, and Leo caught a glimpse of the old Nico, the quiet and mysterious one who shut everyone out.

"Some information about me got out, that's all."

Leo saw something in Nico's eyes. He looked like he wanted to tell him absolutely everything and nothing at all.

"Nico, you can trust me. You seemed so happy this morning and were smiling up until this point. If that's some sort of mask..."

"No." Nico cut him off. "It's not a mask, I'm just in a good mood, okay? Something happened, and it made me feel... better. But also worse."

"So why were you smiling?" Leo asked.

"Mask," Nico muttered.

Nico

Why was Leo Valdez so annoying?

Nico wanted desperately to tell Leo about Percy. Jason, Annabeth, and Percy already knew, but if Nico had had it his way, nobody would have known, and if anyone did, that person would be Leo Valdez. Leo was outgoing, but he was also alone. Nico knew that expression, the one Leo always wore. It was Leo's mask. Leo tried to appear friendly and lighthearted, but Nico could tell he felt just as out of place as himself. That's why Nico had wanted to tell Leo about Percy, because maybe he would understand what it was like to be different. But now three people already knew, and he didn't know if he could sleep at night knowing another person knew.

Nico didn't think he was really all that into Percy Jackson anymore. He had been trying to let him go ever since he and Jason faced Cupid, but last night had been an excellent closure. He had woken up this morning feeling like Percy Jackson didn't matter, at least not in a romantic way, and that this was a new beginning. Why tell Leo and bring up old things?  
>Maybe Nico just wanted Leo to know that he felt this way about other guys. He wanted someone to know. But not Jason or Percy or Annabeth. Those people had found out on accident. He wanted to talk about this with someone he trusted.<p>

He turned to face Leo. Leo had obviously been trying to keep up with his train of thoughts, but failed, and seemed more confused than ever.

"I like boys," Nico said solidly, playing with the bottom of his black T-shirt and not looking into Leo's eyes. He didn't know what to do with his hands. What did normal people do with their hands?

Leo didn't answer him.

Nico waited in silence for his reaction, but there wasn't one.

After an awkward while, Nico looked into Leo's eyes. "Leo?"

Leo looked back at him cautiously, and his eyes flickered as if he was having an inner conversation with himself. Then his eyes stopped flickering, and he grinned back at Leo.

"Dude, thats totally okay," he said, a laugh in his voice.

Nico wasn't sure he meant it. "Then why did you take so long to answer?"

"Because I felt like I should tell you something, too, just so that you'll have something on me. That way you won't feel worried that I know your secret, because you'll know one of mine."

Nico nodded slowly. That was an acceptable answer.

"Okay, so tell me who you are hiding from."

Leo shrugged, like _What the heck. _"Frank and Hazel," he said. "I caught them making out."

Nico smiled a little. "That's not so bad. And I promise I wont talk about it."

Leo punched his arm playfully. "You never talk."

Nico looked down at his dark shirt and jeans, feeling like he looked really dark. He didn't feel really dark, at least not now. Leo accepted him.

"Okay, I told you my secret, now fess up," Nico said.

Leo looked at him quizically. "I told you a secret already."

"But that's not your secret. Why were you acting different when you came back to the _Argo II_ after Khione launched you into the sky? What happened?"

Leo looked deflated. "Oh. It's just... I met someone."

Nico stared at him, so Leo continued.

"Do you remember hearing anything about Calypso?"

Recognition spread across Nico's face. Leo went on.

"Yeah, well, I got stuck on her island. And as I was leaving, she, um... she kissed me."

Nico didn't know what to do. Should he comfort or congratulate him?

Leo slouched, so Nico decided to go with comfort.

"You'll figure it out," said Nico.

Leo laughed. "I'm just confused. Because something else has come up." Nico found adrenaline running through him as he realized what was happening. Leo leaned towards him, and Nico felt warm and shaky, and his heart was pounding and his ears were throbbing. Leo was going to kiss him. His lips were inches from his face, when Nico put a hand on his shoulder and stood quickly. There was a brief pause before he ran out of the room. Because it was still too soon after everything that had happened. It was all too soon after Percy.


	3. Confessions

Piper

Piper stood at the front of the table where they all ate, with everyone gathered around it except for Coach Hedge. She had noticed Leo acting weird, too, and had decided enough was enough. They were going home tomorrow, and they had all of today and part of tomorrow morning to resolve all of their conflicts in privacy on the _Argo II_.

"Okay, guys," she began. "Thanks for agreeing to gather here, I honestly didn't think you would want to do this."

"Piper, you used charmspeak on us," said Annabeth.

Piper shifted her weight. "Okay, well I promise I won't do that anymore. But this is important. For a group of heroes who are great at fighting monsters, we are really a giant ship wreck."

They could hear Festus making weird noises to express his discomfort at the words "ship wreck".

"Sorry, Festus!" Piper shouted up. She glanced around the room. Percy seemed fine enough, but he wouldn't stop playing with Riptide. Nico, who was the brightest person on the ship hours before, seemed to be hiding inside of his own, personal rain cloud. Annabeth usually had a great poker face, but Piper could tell she was trying too hard to make her face look neutral. It was an act. Something was up with her, too. Then there was Jason. Jason, as in Piper's boyfriend. Not only had he been acting weird this morning, but he had come into her room late last night and said things that didn't make any sense. Something about love.

_We're scared to love, _Piper remembered him saying, _Because to love is to become vulnerable, and we're all to proud for that sort of thing._ Piper had asked him if he was talking about her, to which he shook his head. He'd briefly kissed her before he said "I just figured that out and couldn't keep it to myself." Then he'd left.

"Okay," said Piper. "Obviously, some of us-well, all of us- have been acting weird lately. If anyone wants to make a confession or tell anyone anything, now is the time to do it. We're all here, and nobody is going to judge anyone else." She put a little charmspeak into the last part, despite what she promised Annabeth. She waited for someone to speak, but nobody did. Then again, why did Piper think this would work? She was planning to say something else when Frank spoke up.

"I have to confess," he said, grinning, "that Hazel is a great kisser." He turned and kissed her, and everyone cheered, except for Leo, who was bright red.

"Yeah, and I walked in on them kissing this morning," said Leo, not looking at Hazel or Frank.

Hazel laughed. "Leo, that was no big deal. And besides, that's nothing compared to the time Frank walked in on _you _while you were in your underwer dancing to the Backstreet Boys..."

"FRANK! You told her? You said you wouldn't tell anyone!" Leo sounded mad, but he was grinning.

Percy let out a giggle, and then everyone else errupted into laughter, even Nico. They were all picturing Leo in his underwear holding a hairbrush as a microphone in front of a mirror listening to the Backstreet Boys and dancing.

Leo huffed. "Okay, well, count that as my confession. Except Frank and Hazel said it for me. Thanks guys." He sounded annoyed but couldn't help smiling.

Hazel cleared her throat. "Okay, well, since that was more of Leo's secret than mine, I guess I should say something now."

Piper was delighted at how well this was going.

"When I first met Leo, I liked him a lot. Because of Sammy." Everyone gaped at Hazel. They all knew there had been tension between Hazel and Leo, but they never knew that Hazel actually liked him. Frank looked uncomfortable. Hazel noticed.

"Hey, guys, that's in the past," she said in a light voice. "Besides, I've got a nice boyfriend who fought an entire city of monsters for me. I love Frank Zhang."

Everyone smiled. There was a pause, and then Percy spooke up.

"I'll go next," said Percy. "Annabeth's the only girl I've ever kissed. Which is perfect, because I'd jump into Tatarus for her."

"Percy!" Said Annabeth, obviously surprised and delighted. Percy wasn't the spontaneous boyfriend type.

The next person to speak up was the last person anyone expected to.

"While we're making confessions about the people we like or whatever," Nico began, "I... um..."

He trailed off, while Percy, Jason, Annabeth, and Leo gave him encouraging looks. He ignored Leo and continued. "Okay, well, really the only people who don't know are Piper, Hazel, and Frank."

Piper wondered what the big deal was. It was just a crush, and Nico could tell them anything.

"I'm... I'm not excactly, er... straight."

Oh. Everything made sense now.

Nico winced as if someone was about to hit him, but obviously no one did. Then Percy whooped and clapped him on the back. Everyone else smiled and cheered for Nico. Nico looked like he regretted his descision to tell them and stared at his shoes, but everyone grinned at him and tried to make him feel comfortable.

"I'm really honored that you told us," said Frank, "and we won't tell anyone else unless you tell us to."

"Yeah," added Hazel, "and if anything, we love you even more now because you trust us. And honestly, everyone here trusts you."

Everyone agreed.

"So now last night and this morning should make sense," said Percy. "Because Nico got out last night on accident, and we were trying to protect him."

"Thanks," Nico mumbled.

Leo cleared his throat. "I have to confess something, too." But just as he said that, the door swung open.

A beautiful voice said "While we're all making confessions, I think I should tell you all something."

Calypso stood in the doorway.

**Author's Note: **I didn't plan to write past the first chapter, but I got a lot of requests to continue. Sorry if the story's all over the place; I had originallly just wanted it to be the resolution to Nico's feelings for Percy. However, I really like where the story is going, and BAM now Calypso is in it! I will continue to write this story asap, but for now I leave you on a cliff hanger... hee hee hee


	4. This Isn't Like a Battle Strategy

Leo

Leo's mouth dropped to the ground. He was pretty sure Percy's did too, but he wasn't looking at Percy, he was looking at Calypso.

Everyone held their breath, especially Leo, whose lungs felt like super inflated balloons. He didn't dare to breathe. This was the single most terrifying moment of his life. The moment when the pretty girl walked into the room.

"Did you miss me?" Calypso smirked. She seemed relatively happy. "Because I missed you." She walked right up to Leo and gave him a quick peck on the lips, but Leo was too dazed by her presence to care that she had just kissed him again. He had wanted to see Calypso again, but not now. Not when he was about to tell everyone everything. He had wanted to keep his two worlds seperate until the time was right, but the time was _now_, and Gods, this was frightening.

Yes, Leo had been about to tell them about Calypso. But he wasn't ready for his friends to meet her. Calypso was still grinning at Leo, and she put a finger in his hair and twisted a curl around it. Leo gently took her wrist and brought it back down to her side.

"It's nice to see you again, Calypso," Leo cautiously ventured. "How... how did you get here?"

"You're daddy sent me."

The gears in Leo's mind began to run faster than the mechanic workings of the _Argo II. _Why would Hephaestus do this? Leo couldn't count how many times he had prayed to his Dad for some help, and he chose _now _to intervene?

Leo was especially worried about how Nico would take this.

Leo _hadn't _tried to kiss Nico. Yes, he moved in closer to him, but not to kiss him. He just wanted to study Nico's face, the way you studied a machine. He wanted to study his face because he wasn't sure why Nico would open up to him unless he was interested. Leo would never admit it, but he was slightly attracted to Nico. But Leo was _not _bold enough to even admit this to himself, let alone kiss him. Only bold enough to study his face. After Nico had fled, Leo realized what it had seemed like and felt the rest of the morning up until now feeling sick.

So the girl he liked _a lot_ and the guy he liked _a little _stood in the same room. And he didn't know how either one would react to the other.

Oh, yeah, and then there was Percy. The guy Calypso couldn't forgive because he broke her heart.

Leo would never break her heart, even if she showed up at the worst time possible.

"Why would Hephestaus do this?" He asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Because he heard your prayer."

Leo was confused. What prayer?

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"He heard you say 'Please let me be with the one I love'. So here I am."

Leo's eye's widened. He wanted to punch a hole in the bottom of the ship and swim through it and drown. _Why _had his dad taken it that way?

"I meant my mom!" Leo exclaimed. "Last night, I was showering and thinking about how I missed her. She, um, she died. It was an accident, and she got trapped in a fire." Leo spat the words out quickly, trying to keep his voice steady. His hands caught on fire and he quickly extinguished them.

Calypso frowned. "So you aren't happy to see me?"

Leo smiled and shook his head. "I'm really glad to see you, it's just complicated." He kissed her and forgot about everyone else in the room, including Nico and Percy. She smelled beautiful, like honeydew melon. Her hair was soft and looked like cinnamon, and her soft, white dress flowed around her. He loved her name. Calypso.

Piper cleared her throat. Leo pulled away.

"Um, Leo," said Piper. "Did you forget to tell us something?"  
>Leo smiled sheepishly. "Guys, this is Calypso."<p>

Calypso waved.

"Yeah, I know her," said Percy. Percy approached Calypso and stood in front of her. "I didn't come back for you."

Calypso smiled sadly. "No, you didn't."

Percy and Calypso studied eachother.

"Okay, guys," said Frank, clearing his throat. "What the actual _heck_?"

Leo launched into a thorough explanation of how he knew Calypso and what had happened between them, and how Percy had been to her island before, too. He told everyone the entire story, and when he came to the end, he paused.

Piper nudged him. "Leo, what's wrong?"

Leo smiled. "I was getting to the part that I was about to tell you earlier. When we were doing confessions, I was going to tell you this part."

"Which part?" Piper asked.

"The part about how I love her."

Calypso smiled and everyone else gaped.

Jason shook his head. "Leo, that's really awesome. But Calypso's a _goddess_. You can't have a real relationship with her. She lives forever. You don't."

Calypso's eyes turned stormy as she faced Jason, and then the entire group of demigods. "All of your parents fell for mortals, didn't they?"

Nobody had a good response.

"I'm coming back with you all to Camp Half Blood," Calypso announced. Everyone was quiet, and none of them wanted to argue with a goddess. They had had enough of that.

"So," said Leo, cheerfully, "let's welcome Calypso aboard the _Argo II_!"

Everyone half-heartedly mumbled "Welcome aboard" and then dissappeared into their rooms.

Percy

Percy didn't know what to do, and he needed the help of someone far wiser than him and more intelligent than him. He needed someone who understood everything that he didn't.

So naturally, he found himself sitting at the end of Annabeth's bed.

She nodded and brushed her long, blond hair (which she rarely did) as he told her about how terrible he felt about Calypso.

"So what should I do?" He asked. "Obviously, I hurt her. I don't want to hurt anybody, much less a goddess."

Annabeth shrugged. "I don't know."

Percy was shocked. "The daughter of Athena... _doesn't know?_ Even in Tatarus, you had all of the answers, which, by the was, was remarkable," he said, kissing her cheek.

Annabeth smiled. "Well thanks, but this isn't like a battle strategy or a situation involving, like, wits or something. This has to do with relationships and feelings. And as we've already figured out, everyone on this ship is bad with those."

Percy agreed with her, but still, it would be nice if she had some suggestions. Should he talk to Leo or Calypso and apologize? Or should they be trying to get rid of Calypso? Oh, and there was another thing.  
>"I think something's going on with Nico and Leo," Percy said reluctantly.<p>

Annabeth stopped brushing her hair. "Like what?"

"Like..." Percy trailed off, hoping he wouldn't have to continue.

Annabeth nodded. "Like that," she said, and they both knew what they meant. "But what makes you think so?"

Percy quieted. "It was... their body language. Nico acted the same way around me as he was this morning around Leo. And Leo kept looking at Nico when Calypso appeared. I think it has something to do with yesterday; I caught Nico running out of his room, and Leo came out a few minutes after."

Annabeth stared at the ground. "So Leo and Nico might be a thing?"

Percy really hoped not. He hoped for the simplicity of things that nobody fell in love with anybody ever again. This was too much. "Is it really a good idea to have Calypso on board?" He asked. Annabeth didn't seem to know.

Nico

Nico was completely and utterly surprised when Leo rushed into his room, quickly shutting the door behind him the way he had done after encountering Hazel and Frank. He was out of breath and looked worried.

"What's going on?" Asked Nico.

Leo held up a finger, saying _Give me a sec to catch my breath._

Nico waited.

"Okay," said Leo, leaning against the door and sliding down it so that he sat at the base. Nico stood above him feeling confused. Of course, Nico didn't say anything. He wasn't one to start the conversation, and earlier had been completely different. He had been happy then. Now, the feelings were coming back, and he felt like himself. He felt like the Nico that couldn't begin a conversation. Luckily, Leo was talkative and began explaining without having to be further prompted.

"Calypso wants to marry me."

Nico was stunned. He wanted to say "_WHAT THE HECK, VALDEZ?!_",but he couldn't speak. So nothing was new.

"Nico?" Leo asked. "Say something."

Nico shook his head, and then laughed a little. "So what are you going to do?"

Leo looked terrified. "I don't know. We were by the mast looking out over the sea, when she said that she couldn't wait to grow old with me and watch our children grow old. Okay, yes, I really like her, and even though love is a big deal and you shouldn't toss things around like that, I would go as far as to say that I love her. But I can't marry a _goddess_, especially one that I just met! And if I turn her down, I go on her list of heroes that have hurt her."

"Tell her," said Nico.

Leo shook with pressure. "I can't, at least not right now. I don't want to hurt her. Dad wouldn't have sent her if she wasn't important. She's been trapped in Ogygia, like, _forever_, and to suddenly free her means she's important. I don't want to blow it. So I'm pretending like it never happened, and that I don't have to think about marriage for a long, long time."

Nico almost laughed. He sank to the floor and sat beside Nico. "Dude," he said. "You can't just pretend like it didn't happen. She loves you. Don't you think it would hurt being ignored by someone who you love?"

A wave of memories flowed over Nico as he realized that he was talking about Percy, and how ignored he felt watching him be with Annabeth. Yes, it did suck to be ignored by someone who you love. But that whole Percy thing was over, so Nico shook it off.

Leo leaned his head against the door. "I'm not ignoring her, I'm temporarily avoiding her."

Nico held up his hands in innocence.

Leo laughed.

They were silent for a little while until Nico spoke up.

"So about earlier, when you tried to kiss me..."  
>Leo shook his head. "I wasn't trying to kiss you. I was looking into your face."<p>

For some reason, Nico felt like he had been hit by the _Argo II_. It was really dissapointing that Leo wouldn't try to kiss him. Of course he wouldn't; he was Leo Valdez, future husband of a goddess.

"Well how was I supposed to know that you weren't leaning in to kiss me?" Asked Nico in defense.

"Well," said Leo, "I was pretty unclear."

"Yeah," said Nico.

They sat in silence again.

Nico spoke up.

"What would it have been like if you _were _trying to kiss me? Just so I know in the future. So I know that you aren't trying to kiss me."

Leo smiled a little. They were sitting pretty close together.

"Well, I suppose if it's just so you know in the future..." Leo began, slowly shifting to face Nico better.

"Yeah, just so I know what it would be like if you were trying."

"Do you really wanna know?"

Nico paused. "Yeah."

Leo gave him a cute little half smile. "Like this." He put three fingers under Nico's chin and tilted his head so it was at the perfect angle for their lips to meet. He moved forward until their lips made contact, and then pulled back after a few moments.

"Sorry," said Leo. "That was a bad example. Let me try again."

"Nah, I got this," said Nico, pulling him in and kissing him gently. Leo's hands wandered to the back of Nico's head, and Nico found himself shuddering at how nice they felt going in and out of his hair. Then, that kiss ended, too.

"Should I be going then?" Asked Leo.

Nico shrugged. "Okay. Say hi to your goddess wife for me."

Leo slumped a little, looking disheartened. "Oh. Yeah." He stood and helped Nico up. "Thanks," he added before leaving. "For everything."

Nico didn't even have time to ask what he meant before he was gone.

**Author's Note: **SORRYSORRYSORRYSORRYSORYY I COULDN'T RESIST. FEAR NOT, THERE SHALL BE LEO/CALYPSO FLUFF IN THE FUTURE. JUST CHILL. Also, this is getting pretty relationshippy. Expect more non-relationship related plot twists in the next chapter.


	5. The Tides Turn Against Us

Leo

Leo woke up from a nap and examined the control panels. _Oh, Gods_, He thought. _Did I really just kiss Nico?_ He shook his head, and when he looked closer at the controls, he realized where they were. They were flying over the Sea of Monsters, or what regular people called the Bermuda Triangle. He brightened. Everything made sense now. He didn't like Nico; it was just the Sea of Monsters messing with his head. Weird things happened here. But he didn't love Nico; he didn't even like Nico. He had the hugest crush on Calypso, who wanted to marry him. And so what if she did? They'd have to wait a few years before Leo felt comfortable settling down, but Calypso wouldn't care; she loved him. Leo smiled. Everything could be normal.

Jason

Calypso and Jason stood alone in the room where everyone normally ate meals. The large breakfast table with chairs all around it occupied most of the room, with screens showing scenes from Camp Half Blood covering the walls. Jason wasn't sure why Calypso had called him in here, but he did know that he didn't trust her. Jason was generally a good reader of people, so he trusted his instincts against Calypso.

Calypso smiled sweetly. Jason could see why Leo was so into her; her hair beautifully framed her face and flowed over her shoulders and down her back. Her dress was loose and reminded Jason of whispy clouds floating across the sky when she moved. And to be honest, she was just overall hot. Still, Jason didn't find her attractive, if that makes any sense. He had Piper, and he didn't like the feeling he got around Calypso.

"Do you know why you're here?" Calypso asked. Jason shrugged. Calypso looked disappointed in him, as if he should know.

"What did I miss?" Asked Jason. Calypso shook her head.

"Jason, I'm disappointed. I thought you were good at recognizing monsters." Her voice dropped low on the word "monsters".

Jason tensed up and closed his fingers around his sword. Calypso smiled.

"Oh, that's cute," she almost sang. "You think you can use that puny little sword to fight a Minotaur!" Her voice became monstrous and low on the word "minotaur," and she grew until she was seven feet tall. Her body widened and she sprouted short, coarse-looking fur. Her face morphed into that of a bull's, and she was no longer wearing a beautiful dress, but bright, white Fruit of the Looms. She was a giant bull, and she was missing one horn.

"GUYS!" Jason yelled.

Jason stood across the table from the Minotaur, and the thing leaped onto the table and roared in his face. This was confusing. Wasn't the Minotaur supposed to have horrible sight and hearing?

There was no time to question things. There was only time to fight. Jason slashed at the monster's stomach, but the Minotaur disarmed him. He was helpless and cornered, and would've died if Piper and Frank hadn't run into the room.

"Hey, ugly!" Screamed Piper. "Get away from my boyfriend! He's taken, and way out of your leauge!" The Minotaur quickly turned around and jumped from the table onto Piper, but Frank turned into a rhino before they collided and the two began to fight like animals. They rolled onto the table, which split in two, and Frank tried to stab the Minotaur with his rhino horn. Though it bought Jason and Piper some time, it wasn't getting them anywhere, except for maybe out of that room. Jason and Piper bolted, and Frank noticed his friends leaving and fled too, turning back into a teenaged boy as he ran. The three of them stood on the deck in front of the room, just as the Minotaur burst out. Piper screamed and aimed her cornucopia at it, and Frank turned into an eagle and started clawing at its eyes. Jason kept it back with his sword, and Nico, Percy, Annabeth, Leo, and Hazel ran to join them. As soon as the creature saw Percy, it lost it. It put all of its weight into a forceful lunge at him, and it took all seven of his friends to hold him back, plus Coach Hedge, who was wildly swinging a baseball bat. Percy pulled out riptide and was about to swing, when Hazel leaped in front of him and pulled out a sword of her own. "I wouldn't do that, Jackson."

Amazingly, the Minotaur stood behind her and didn't attack her.

"I'm sorry, Percy," Hazel said as she drew her weapon.

Then she swung at Percy and the two demigods began to fight, and their friends stood there dumbfounded but then shook off the shock and fought back against Hazel and the Minotaur in the swirling confusion of betrayal.


	6. What Do You Want?

Frank

Chaos ensued. Piper tried to disarm Hazel without hurting her, which looked difficult because Hazel was not holding back, and if they hadn't outnumbered her, Frank doubted Hazel wouldn't kill Piper. Percy fought for his life against the Minotaur, who now had perfect seeing and hearing, and also held a grudge from the time he cut off his horn years ago. Annabeth was fighting at his side. Nico and Leo also helped Percy fight the Minotur, and to everyone's bewilderment, Nico swung with his sword, slashed the Minotaur, turned around, and kissed Leo. That was really confusing.

Jason was trying to make sure that Piper didn't get hurt, but also trying not to interfere with the fight. He obviously didn't want to get in the way, but he didn't want Hazel to hurt his girlfriend.

Coach Hedge was whacking the Minotaur from behind with his baseball bat, but the Minotaur didn't even seem to notice him.

Then there was Frank, not knowing what to do. Everyone had a place in this fight, and he really didn't see how he could help. He didn't want to turn into a rhino again and risk sinking the ship, but a small animal would be useless. Then he remembered his bow and arrow.

He had left his weapons on his bed, so he fled downstairs and snatched them up. He reemerged just in time to see the Minotaur about to throw Percy across the world. He quickly put an arrow in the bow and pulled back. Just as he was about to let go, everything got dark. White fog swirled around the _Argo II_ in a circle, and in the center of the circle, a figure began to appear. Instantly, Hazel and the Minotaur stopped fighting. Piper was quick to disarm Hazel once she had stopped fighting, but Hazel didn't seem to care; her eyes were fixed on the figure.

Hecate.

"Hazel Levesque and her pet Minotaur, how lovely to see you," the goddess smiled artfully.

Hazel and the Minotaur bowed, and Frank could have sworn that Hazel was crying.

"I tried to stop them from reaching camp," Hazel cried. She was definitely crying. Hecate patted her back.

"Hush, girl, I know you did."

Jason held out his sword. "Would you like to tell us what is going on?"

Hecate laughed. "Why don't I let Hazel explain?"

Hazel sniffed and shook her head, but the goddess grew ten feet, bent over and screamed in Hazel's face, "TELL THEM!". Then she returned to normal size.

Hazel looked at her friends. "Calypso was never here. It was the Minotaur all along. It looked like Calypso to all of you because I used magic."

Leo fell to his knees, his eyes wide.

Hecate grinned. "Hazel, would you like to explain why?"  
>Hazel obviously <em>didn't<em> want to explain why, but the goddess didn't give her much of a choice.

"Well, first of all, I was able to keep the Minotaur under control because of Gaea. She told him that she would give him perfect sight, vision, and a better mind if he took her side during the massive war. Of course he accepted, and that's why he was able to easily fight you today. That's also why he was able to pretend to be Calypso while I used magic on him and all of you."

Hecate cleared her throat. "Yes, Hazel, that explains a lot, but I wanted you to tell them why we did all of this."

Hazel's eyes looked heavy, like she had been carrying a burden that couldn't be lifted. "Because of Leo. He apparently swore on the River Styx to go back for Calypso. Obviously, that was impossible. A hero only finds Ogygia once. Gaea, even though she was evil and heartless..."

Hazel was cut off by Hecate, who gave her an angry cough and glare. After a few moments, Hazel continued.

"Anyways, Gaea had a soft spot for Calypso. Calypso was wronged by the Gods, and Gaea felt like she had been wronged by the Gods, too. So Gaea liked Calypso and felt sorry for her. So when Leo told Calypso he would return for her, Gaea got angry and decided that she would send the Minotaur to destroy him. Not only because she was angry with Leo for getting Calypso's hopes up, but also because Leo was one of the seven heroes in her way. Obviously, we defeated her before this plan actually went into affect, but the Minotaur, who had been reborn, had yet to be destroyed. He wasn't in Tatarus when we closed the doors of death, so he was still hunting Leo. Then Hecate, who was on Gaea's side, found me and made me help her with this plan. She still wanted to go through with destroying Leo, because, well..."

Hazel trailed off, her eyes locked on Leo. Hecate grinned and finished for her.

"Because Leo forgot all about Calypso and found a better partner. He left her for a boy. This pathetic Nico di Angelo. Did you know that they kiss all the time? I don't understand why Leo would forget about such a pretty girl for this dark little demigod boy, but that's what he did. And now, on Calypso and Gaea's behalfs, Hazel and the Minotaur and I were to destroy Leo. But not just kill him. We were going to have the girl he left behind kill him. Or at least, a monster that looked like her. Isn't it a great plan?"

"No," said a voice from behind the crowd of demigods. Everyone turned. Frank caught his breath. The actual Calypso stood there with a man who was glowing like a God.

"Dad," said Leo. So the God was Hephaestus.

"Son," Hephaestus began, "I've been watching you. Is there something you would like to tell me yourself? Of course, I already know everything."

Leo looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "I... um... I... I like... well... I'm bisexual."

Wow, even demigods had to come out to their parents.

Hephaestus smiled. "Well done, son. I saw this cruel plan unfolding from Olympus, and decided it was finally time to step in. I am _actually_ freeing Calypso now. And I am saving you. This isn't right." Hephaestus then turned to Hecate, who looked terrified. Hephaestus snapped his fingers, and Hecate turned into a bronze pole cat. "I worked hard making that bronze pole cat," said Hephaestus. Hazel stared.

"So you can use magic on the goddess of magic?" She gaped. Hephaestus laughed and shook his head.

"Of course not. She's not actually the bronze pole cat, she's trapped inside of it. Now, for this Minotaur..."

Hephaestus threw the bronze pole cat with all of the force of a God at the monster, and both the monster and the imprisoned goddess vanished into Tatarus. Then, he turned to his son.

"Son, I love you anyways." He kissed Leo's forehead and was gone.

Calypso

Calypso had just been freed from Ogygia to return to the boy she loved, who was apparently in love with someone else. And that someone else was a boy. She looked at the boy in question, who was wearing a black T-shirt, gray jeans, a skull ring, and black Converse shoes. His hair was black, and everything about him seemed dark. Even his eyes looked dark and empty. How could Leo love him? They seemed to be polar opposites.

Calypso didn't know whether to run to Leo or run away from him. She didn't know where she was. She didn't even know any of the people surrounding her. The girl who had apparently been trying to destroy Leo against her will, Hazel, burst into tears and ran downstairs, and a large, Asian boy followed her. Calypso wondered if they were a couple.

The dark boy, Nico, wouldn't look at her. On the contrary, a blond girl, a pretty girl with a braid and a cornucopia, a blond boy who had his arm on the pretty girl (maybe they were a couple, too), and Percy Jackson all stared at her. Calypso didn't know what to do.

"Hello," she said, timidly. The blond girl smiled at her and said, "I think we'll give you some privacy." She left, along with everyone else except for Nico and Leo.

Calypso was usually confident and in control, but now she was at a loss for words. She had imagined returning to Leo and having him scoop her up in his arms. She had imagined him twirling her around, her hair flying behind her. She had imagined them kissing again, like on the night when he left her, only this time would be better because he was returning and not leaving. She hadn't imagined this.

Nico slouched and gave himself a seat on the floorboards of the ship. Calypso sat down, too. Nico looked at Leo with hurt eyes and said, "What do you want, Valdez?"

**Author's Note:** Sorry that the chapters are getting shorter, but I keep finding better stopping points. More chapters to come in the future! Also, thanks to everyone who has been reviewing; it means a lot to me! :)


	7. And the Other's Imperial Gold

Leo

Wow, Piper's mom was a big jerk. Why did Leo have to be in love with _anyone_? Much less two people, and much less a boy.

Calypso looked confused, and Nico looked hurt. Leo decided that Nico needed comfort the most at the moment, so he put a hand on his shoulder. Nico shrugged him off.

A pang of guilt hit Leo like a slap in the face. Nico's words swam in and out of his brain.

_What do you want, Valdez?_

_What do you want, Valdez?_

_What do you want, Valdez?_

Leo shook his head. He looked at Calypso, who stunned him with beauty every time he looked at her. Then he looked at Nico, who stunned him with something else. Interest? Curiosity? Fascination? He couldn't shake the feeling that he loved Nico. He remembered the way his lips felt against him, and the way they melted together. He remembered the way Nico reminded him of his mom, and fire, and a million other things that scared him but made him happy as well.

Then he remembered the awe that surrounded him when Calypso kissed him, and the way he had liked her from the start but had refused to admit it to even himself. He almost laughed, it was so dumb.

Nico picked at a floorboard. "Choose."

Leo blinked. "Excuse me?"

Calypso sighed. "Nico's right. You can't be with both of us."

Leo couldn't believe they expected him to do this. "Guys, I'm not just going to choose one of you. At least, not like this. That's... that's horrible."

"You're horrible." Nico's face was like a brick wall.

Leo was stunned. He hadn't tried to hurt Nico or Calypso. He had just been another one of Aphrodite's victims, and he resented it.

But he couldn't blame the gods for everything.

Leo studied Nico's face. It was cold and solid, and his words swam through Leos ears again and again.

_You're horrible._

_You're horrible._

_You're horrible._

He couldn't be with Nico. Calypso was, well, a girl. So what was the obvious choice, really? Plus, she was undeniably hot. He tried to focus on how hot Calypso was as he saw the hurt peeking through Nico's expression, and felt the love stirring in his heart again. No. He had to push Nico away. Nico thought he was horrible, and when it came down to it, he had the opportunity to be with a girl. Why choose the guy? Especially the guy who thought he was horrible.

He swallowed the love that had been building up.

Leo kissed Nico's cheek. "This has been wonderful."

He took Calypso's arm, and the pair vanished to Leo's room, leaving Nico sitting there in silence.

Percy

Was _everybody_ on the_ Argo II _gay?

Piper, Jason, Frank, Hazel, and Annabeth all sat in his room. Nobody knew how to process what had happened. They all wanted to help their friends, but they didn't want to bring attention to them. They wanted to comfort them without being nosy.

"So what do we do?" Asked Hazel, who was bouncing a ball against the wall. Frank hung off of the bed upside down beside her, and he did an upside down shrug.

"We don't do anything," said Jason. "The _Argo II_ gets to Camp Halfblood in about two hours. We can all have some space from eachother then. It's their problem, not ours, and we don't have to all be so close to eachother once we're off this ship."

Annabeth sighed. "Can you imagine keeping a secret like that?" She wondered aloud.

"Like what?" Frank asked.

"Like being gay," Hazel informed him.

Everyone shook their heads. They _couldn't_ imagine keeping a secret like that.

"Imagine having to love someone in secret," said Piper, holding her boyfriends hand.

A sad, concerned mood settled over them. They hoped their friends would be okay.

Leo

"Heroes" by David Bowie played on a record by the dresser in Leo's room. It was soft and calming, and it helped Leo to not concentrate on the fact that he had just let go the most important person in the world to him.

He sat next to Calypso on his bed, a million thoughts swirling through his mind.

"I'm not going to tell you that I love you," said Leo, putting a hand on Calypso's knee. She put a hand on his hand and stroked it. Her hands were so soft.

"I don't expect you to," she said soothingly. Leo's stomach twirled around. She smelled so good and she was so close to him, and her cinnamon hair waved behind her when she talked. Leo loved the way her lips moved when she spoke.

"It's just that I thought you might want to hear it," he said.

Calypso shook her head. "I only want to hear you say those words if you really mean them. Besides, who said _I_ loved _you_? Before you left, I told you not to get your hopes up."

Leo laughed. "You _so _love me."

Calypso smiled a little, and her eyes drifted to his ear, which she promptly kissed. "Maybe I do," she whispered.

Leo didn't love Calypso. But he liked her. A lot. The thing was, he loved Nico. He had chosen Calypso for the simplicity of things. For being normal. For not being with a boy. And, to be honest, for being with someone who was extremely beautiful and funny. But Calypso hadn't met Nico standards yet. Leo hoped that as their relationship went on, he would fall in love with her. Maybe he was already beginning to. He turned to her and put a hand on the back of her waist, and they slowly sank onto the bed. The record played in the background, and he lay on top of her and kissed her, Calypso tugging at his hair and Nico di Angelo tugging at his heart.

**Author's Note: **Yes this is short, but that's all I wanted to cover for this chapter, so there you go.

Next chapter: Camp Half Blood! Hoozah! And it shall be an extra long chapter, just you wait ;)

Have a demigodly day, babes :)


	8. Someone New To Love

Because of issues with the ship, the heroes were delayed. They had to spend an extra day on the ship while Leo fixed everything while everyone else whined and asked "are we there yet?". They eventually went to bed after spending all day lounging around and telling stories, and the next day, early on a promising morning, they were going home.

Annabeth

Annabeth stood at the front of the _Argo II_ looking into the trees in front of her. She could see where the valley was a few miles ahead. Camp Halfblood was waiting for them.

Percy walked up from behind her and lifted her arms, so that they were looking out of the ship _Titanic_ style. Annabeth laughed and turned and gave him a big, warm hug.

"Percy, we're going home!" She said, snuggling her head into his chest. She was so happy to be going back to the place that was a part of her, to the place where she had grown up, to the place where she was safest. He hugged her back tightly, and they rocked back and forth, both of them grinning.

Piper

Piper walked above deck, where she found Annabeth and Percy in a large bear hug. She was about to turn around, when someone grabbed her from behind and wrapped their arms around her, too. She wiggled around and faced her boyfriend, then smiled and slid her arms behind him.

"Jason, we're almost there!" She marveled.

He laughed and played with the eagle's feather in her hair with one hand, the other hand holding her tightly.

Percy

Frank burst above deck with Hazel bouncing along on his back piggyback-style. The two laughed and ran to Percy, Annabeth, Piper, and Jason, and he put her down and they joined the group.

"Camp Half Blood!" Said Percy.

"I know!" Said Hazel.

"Karate chop!" Said Coach Hedge. Everyone turned to look at him, and he chuckled and chewed on his baseball bat. Everyone smiled, despite the fact that Coach Hedge was hopelessly obnoxious. They still loved him. They loved their camp. They were going home.

"Where's Nico?" Hazel wondered.

"Right here!" Nico called from the crows nest, then promptly vanished. He returned in a shadow a few feet away from Frank, making him jump. Everyone else giggled. Wow, Percy thought. Nico could be so optimistic when he wanted to be.

"Great," said Annabeth, "now we're just missing Leo and Calypso."

Leo

Leo woke up next to Calypso. Instantly, he knew something was wrong. For one thing, he was shirtless. For another, there was nectar on the bedside table, and he felt warm inside like he had been drinking a lot of it.

_Oh, Gods, _he thought. _Too much nectar can kill you._

Maybe the nectar was the reason he couldn't remember the details of last night. He rolled over and put a hand on Calypso's shoulder and shook her.

"Wake up," he said, worried. Calypso groggily sat up. She was wearing his army jacket, and her hair was sticking out in all directions. Leo realized that his was, too.

"Good morning," he said to her. He felt sick. He realized that his chest was smooth with sweat, and he felt cold. He pulled a blanket around himself.

"Did you sleep well?" Asked Calypso. Leo stared at her until realization hit her, and her eyes widened. She frantically shot out of bed and put a hand on her forehead.

"No, no, no no..." she murmered. "We didn't. We couldn't. That's impossible."

But it was clear.

Leo stared at his blanket-covered form, and Calypso paced back and forth across the room.

"Calypso." Leo felt awful.

"Calypso," he said again.

She whirled around. "Leo, did we really?"

Leo nodded.

"Agh!" She growled. "Consent! We didn't practice consent!"

Leo felt like he was going to throw up. "Did you not want to?" He asked.

"I didn't _not _want to," she replied.

"I didn't not want to either," Leo said. "Since neither of us didn't want to, but neither of us gave consent, what does that make it?"

Calypso sighed. "That makes us really irresponsible, but it's okay. Well, it's not okay. But I'm okay. If I didn't want to, I would have objected. Then again, I don't remember anything. Well, I remember a little, but not a lot." Her thoughts were all over the place.  
>Leo shook his head. "Same."<p>

"Leo, you were the first."  
>Leo gaped at her. She was immortal, and Leo had been the first. After years upon years, Leo had been the first.<p>

"You were the first for me, too."

Calypso covered her mouth with her hand like she was thinking. "How do we deal with this?" She asked. "What do we do now?"

Leo had no idea. "We pray that neither of us got hurt in any way, and hope the others don't find out."

Calypso

Calypso and Leo decided to reemerge from the bedrooms five minutes apart so they didn't look suspicous. Calypso went first.

"Hey, guys!" She said, waving to the group of happy heroes. The words "happy" and "heroes" didn't generally go together, seeing as the life of a hero is incredibly difficult and, well, terrible. But today was an exception. They were definitely happy, and their camp seemed to be about one mile away.

"I can't wait for you to see Camp Half Blood!" Cried Annabeth. Calypso smiled. She loved how Annabeth tried to make her feel welcome. Annabeth was cool.

Leo appeared. "Hola!" He said, grinning. "Today's the day we get back!"

"Actually, we get back right now," said Coach Hedge. The ship began to dip down from the sky, to which Hazel responded with a little squeal.

"Will the Romans be there?" Jason asked.

Coach Hedge nodded. "Yeah, they've been there for about a week. Both camps are almost done being rebuilt."  
>"How do you know?" Asked Annabeth.<p>

"Because I've been iris messaging my wife," said Coach Hedge, grinning. "I've kept this a secret, but today's a happy day, and for demigods, you don't suck that much, so I guess I can tell you." They rolled their eyes, and the coach continued. "I've been iris messaging my wife because she is going to have a baby."

Everyone cried out in joy and surprise, except for Leo, who looked like he was going to throw up, and Calypso, who touched her fingers to her stomach without thinking.

The _Argo II_ landed on Half Blood Hill. Without saying a word, Leo whooped and swung a rope ladder over the edge, then scrambled down and went sprinting down the hill. The others followed, and Coach Hedge helped Calypso, who was new to all of this. The eight heroes, the satyr, and the goddess started in a sprint and then broke into a huge charge, screaming and whooping and hollering as they raced through the trees, pulled by gravity and love and the pull of their home. They darted in and out of trees, and from above they would have looked like minnows darting through a stream, except minnows couldn't shout, and if they could, they wouldn't have ever sounded nearly as blissful or happy.

When the demigods, satyr, and goddess got to the end of the hill, they all fell down in a mass and laughed, covered in grass stains and shrouded in greatness and joy.

A crowd of other demigods surrounded them, some wearing orange shirts and others wearing purple. A girl, Reyna (Calypso had heard a lot about her), was at the front of the crowd, and for once she wasn't wearing a cape. She wore a purple shirt with jeans and Converse hightops, and her hair fell over her shoulders. And her serious expression was completely gone. She dropped to her knees and took Jason's head in her lap, and held onto Frank and Hazels hands.

"My brave little Romans!" She cried. The others looked at her, and she cleared her throat and laughed a little. "And Greeks," she added.

A satyr and a red headed girl pushed through the crowd.

"Grover!" Percy shouted, and the satyr ran towards him and swallowed him in the biggest hug Calypso had ever witnessed. Percy hugged the satyr so tightly that he lifted him off of the ground.

"I missed you, bro!" Said Percy, still squeezing him.

The satyr, Grover, murmered something back, but he was so deep into the hug that he couldn't speak. The friends let go of eachother, both red faced and happy.

The red headed girl waved excitedly, and soon became the next victim of one of Percy's bear hugs.

"Rachel!" He cried. "It's so good to see you!"

Rachel laughed. "You too!"

Grover hugged Annabeth only a little less forcefully than he and Percy had hugged, and this went on for about an hour, with heroes being reuinted with old friends and embracing them like they had been dreaming about doing for the entire journey.

The eight heroes eventually dispersed into their cabins (the Romans going to the cabin of the Greek equivilant to their parents) where they were provided with fresh clothes, nectar, and ambrosia.

Calypso didn't have a cabin to go to, so Leo led her to the Hephaestus cabin. Both of them turned down the nectar and ambrosia they were offered. They had had enough of that last night.

After brief showers and a change of clothes (and nectar and ambrosia for the others) the heroes began to feel healthier. They rejoined the other campers, and were given a hero's welcome.

They spent the rest of the afternoon swimming in the lake with Naiads slipping through the cool green water beneath them like catfish at the bottom of the water.

Percy, Annabeth, Piper, Jason, Frank, Hazel, Leo, and Calypso all swam away from Nico as he frantically held his arms in front of him and screamed "Marco!"

Percy liked to make small currents around Nico and confuse him, and Frank kept turning into a fish and swimming past his leg, making him flinch.

"You are all cruel!" Nico shouted, laughing and crazily swinging his arms, trying to catch someone. Calypso let her guard down and Nico tagged her, and immediately everyone swam away from her. She huffed and closed her eyes, and shouted "Marco!"

"Polo!" She heard Leo shout. Oh, she was _definitely_ going to tag Leo. She shrieked with laughter and swam to where she thought he was, and reached out her arms, smiling and trying to catch him. She heard laughter from behind her and she whirled around, and her mouth felt something. She opened her eyes, and Leo had kissed her.  
>"You touched me! You're it!" She shouted, splashing water on him. He splashed her back, closed his eyes, and yelled "Marco!"<p>

"Polo!" Laughed everyone else.

Except for Nico, of course.

Nico

After a wonderful day of hugs, a hero's return, and some intense Marco Polo-ing, Nico lay in the grass with his six best friends.

Not to be mistaken with eight best friends. Leo and Calypso were _not_ his friends.

Suddenly, Nico was aware of Leo and Calypso holding hands to the left of him. He groaned inwardly, and focused on the sky. It was brilliant.

"Wow," said Hazel, who was lying in the grass to his right. Nico smiled and took his half-sister's hand. She squeezed his.

Annabeth sighed. "It's... it's like Zeus spilled water colors all over the sky."

"Look at the trees," said Frank. "They look like drawings against the sunset."

And they did.

Nico had never seen an evening so beautiful, or taken part in such a beautiful day. The nine of them lay in the soft, gentle grass, listened to eachother's breathing, and were in harmony with the sun, the sky, and eachother.

"I love all of you," said Jason. Nico really appreciated Jason. Jason had been the first to know Nico's secret, and Nico trusted him with all of his heart. Nico loved Jason, too. And Piper. And Frank. And Hazel. And Percy. And Annabeth. Maybe Leo and Calypso, but probably not. Still, he felt close to everyone that had been aboard the _Argo II_.

"I love all of you too," said Nico. _Except for the two people to my left,_ he added silently.

A conch shell blew in the distance signaling dinner. The demigods lay in the grass for a few more moments anyways before deciding to rejoin real life.

Leo

Leo stood and helped Calypso up, and she put her head on his shoulder as they walked. He felt like after this morning, they had been disconnected. They weren't close. They didn't have a bond anymore. Calypso felt distant. After something so big had happened, Leo had expected the opposite. Then again, in a world where you had to fight Titans and badly dressed dwarves daily, you leaned to quit expecting things. But now was not the time to think about those things. Now was the time to walk with his friends back to the pavilion, where they would eat dinner at Camp Half Blood for the first time in a long time.

Their boots made soft sweeping sounds in the grass as they walked under the artwork sky. Despite everything that had happened, Leo was happy.

Leo sat on a couch near the fire at the pavilion with Nico to his left and Percy to his right. Annabeth, Piper, and Hazel sat in the grass just outside of the pavilion and ate and giggled, Jason was speaking with Reyna, and Frank was talking to some Ares kids and looking uncomfortable. Calypso sat with a few satyrs, including Grover, who had his arm around her, and Coach Hedge had elected to spend the evening with his girlfriend, Millie. Everyone had settled in, and everyone was content (except for maybe Frank, who looked like he couldn't believe these people were his half-siblings). Leo jabbed his fork into his spaghetti and took a bite. Mmm.

Next to him, Percy was eating some sort of weird, blue cereal, and Nico munched on pomegranates.

Leo twirled more spaghetti, and accidentally dropped some onto the ground, coincidentially where Nico's foot happened to be. Nico turned and looked at him. After a few moments, Nico dug into a pomegranate with his spoon and plopped it onto Leo's foot.

"Even," said Nico solidly, although a smile peeked through his eyes.

"Nuh-uh," said Leo. "Mine was on accident. We aren't even at all."

"Yes we are. You got food on me, I got food on you."

Leo stared at Nico. Then he grinned and took a big forkful of spaghetti and flung it onto Nico's shoulder.

"Hey!" Nico exclaimed, picking up a pomegranate and throwing a few seeds at Leo. Leo squished noodles into Nico's hair, and Nico started throwing pomegranate guts at Leo. Leo put a meatball on his fork and pulled back, catapulting it right into Nico's nose. Nico grabbed two fistfulls of seeds and threw them at Leo, and they landed all over his shirt. The two boys laughed and flung food at eachother. If they hadn't just returned from a traumatizing quest, people might've said something. But instead, they joined in.

Percy dumped blue cereal all over Leo's head, and Nico was attacked by a pizza from behind.

Soon, every demigod at the pavilion was throwing some sort of food, and Nico and Leo were concealed by the chaos enough to almost love eachother. Almost.

A muffin hit Leo in the side of the face.

"Hey!" He exclaimed, turning to see Hazel standing there. He picked up a piece of chocolate cake and chucked it at her ear, and the gooey brown dessert was instantly stuck in her hair.

"Hey, that wasn't me, that was Frank!" She said, pelting him with grapes and laughing, because Frank was all the way across the pavilion and it definitely had not been Frank. Leo caught a few grapes and aimed as if he were going to hit her, but at the last second turned to Nico and shot him right in the forehead with a fat, purple concord. Mr. D cheered for him from across the pavilion.

The Ares kids were great at rapid-firing tomatoes, and the Aphrodite kids were excellent at chucking low-carb granola bars. Even Chiron, the camp leader and centaur, dunked a few people in chicken noodle soup. It was beautiful chaos, and the most fun Leo had had in a while. He really owed it to Nico. He turned around to say thank you, but as he did, an entire meatloaf sailed through the air and smacked his face. Once Leo wiped his face and got the meatloaf bits out, he found Nico standing across the room, smiling sheepishly. _Thanks for the meatloaf, buddy_, thought Leo, and he grinned as he threw food at the person he cared about most in the world.

Nico

Nico and Leo walked across a big field in front of the lake in silence with bits of food staining their clothes. They walked somewhat close to one another, and occasionally the swings of their arms would intersect and their hands would brush each other. Nico would always shove his hand in his pocket and look away, but eventually he would forget and take his hand out again, letting it swing and eventually touch Leo's hand again. Leo seemed so happy, and Nico resented it. He wanted Leo to feel sorry for leaving him, but he also didn't want to be the source of Leo's guilt. He really cared about Leo. Still, he wished that Leo wasn't so in love with Calypso.

Just as he was thinking about how much he would love to strangle the goddess and nymph of Ogygia, three people emerged from a nearby strawberry field and headed over to them. Nico stepped away from Leo a little, just in case he had looked suspicous before. As the three people came into view, Nico recognized them. Grover, some girl who was obviously an Aphrodite kid, and Calypso. Great.

"Hey!" Called Calypso cheerfully from across the field. They came closer and closer, until the group was a few feet away. Nico and Leo kept their distance, and both sides stood still.

"We need to talk to Leo!" Said the Aphrodite girl.

Nico slumped a little. Of course they only wanted to talk to Leo. Nico wasn't important.

He reminded himself that this was his last night at Camp Half Blood, and after tonight he was going to go to the Underworld where he didn't feel like a freak.

"No," said Leo, to Nico's surprise. "If you can't say it in front of Nico, you can't say it in front of me."

Nico hoped that nobody noticed him blushing.

Calypso shifted her weight.

"Um, Leo," she said, quieter than she had been before. "Its personal."

"Come over here, then," Leo responded. "That way we won't have to talk so loudly."

Calypso, Aphrodite girl, and Grover whipsered to eachother before looking back at Nico and Leo. Then Calypso sighed and motioned for her friends to follow her, and they closed the awkward space between the two groups so that they were now face-to-face.

And Calypso and Leo were literally face-to-face. Their noses were touching. But they weren't kissing or anything. Calypso was staring Leo down (which must have been difficult, seeing as they were so close together).

"I'm going to have a baby," she said in a voice quieter than a conversation but louder than a whisper. Her friends looked at their feet awkwardly, and Nico could see Leo tensing up. But Nico himself felt nothing. In that moment, he felt completely empty.

"How did this happen?" Leo breathed.

"You know how," Calypso whispered back.

Leo shook his head and stepped away from her a little. "Already? It is literally the day after. That's impossible. Even if you were, there's no way you would know."

Her Aphrodite friend stepped forward.

"Actually, my mom, goddess of love, has some great magic pregnancy tests."

Leo looked like he might pass out. "How did you even get those?" He paused. "Nevermind, I really don't think I want to know."

Calypso was crying but she wasn't sobbing. Tears were silently falling from her eyes, but her face was even and her words were steady.

"Leo. Will you help me raise our kid?"

Leo was shaking. "I will try."

"No. I need an actual answer. Yes or no. Will you help me raise our kid?"

Nico was a pretty good reader of people, and when he looked at Leo, all he saw was a sinking ship. Leo was seventeen, but he had told Nico multiple times that he just felt like a kid. How on earth was he going to take care of one himself?

Nico put a hand on Calypso's shoulder. "Calypso, I don't know you that well, but I do know Leo. And I know you can trust him. Whatever answer he gives you is the answer he means. He's honest and loyal, so whatever he says he means. Trust me." He meant it.

"And my answer is yes," said Leo, smiling gratefully at Nico. "Besides, how could I not love our kid? I love our kid already, and I love you." He kissed Calypso's cheek, who closed her eyes and flinched.

"Another thing," she said, her eyes still pinched shut.

Leo looked at her quizzically. "What is it?"

Calypso fidgeted with the edge of her dress. "I don't love you."

Nico wanted to punch her in the face. She had a wonderful boy who was completely devoted to her, no matter what, and she blatantly said to his face "I don't love you." How dare she. Nico studied Leo's face, expecting to find hurt or rage, but instead finding calm. How?

"Okay. Why?" Leo asked smoothly.

"I like you. A lot. But we fell to fast and we made mistakes. There's someone else, and even though I'm not as close with him as I am with you, I feel like we should move on. But we will always have Aggie Phae Valdez. She will keep us together, even though we won't be together romantically."

"Who is Aggie Phae Valdez?" Asked Leo.

"Our baby girl," Calypso smiled. "Aggie for the Argo II, the ship that took me away from my island and prison. Phae for Hephaestus, you're dad and the god that set me free. And Valdez because... well, you know. That's going to be her name. Aggie Phae Valdez."

Leo looked dumbfounded. "How do you know it's going to be a girl?"

The Aphrodite girl looked like she was about to explain, and Leo waved her off, as if to say "nevermind."

"One last thing," said Calypso.

Leo nodded.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"For what?"

"The baby."

Leo's eyes widened. "Oh. No. No, no, no. That is _not _something you can blame entirely on yourself. It was both of us. It's my fault, too. Besides, who said you had to be sorry? We can raise her here at camp. I can't wait to meet Aggie Phae Valdez." He took her hand and squeezed it. She smiled with tears in her eyes, but she still wasn't sobbing and her voice was still steady.

"Thank you."

Grover put his arm around her, the Aphrodite girl linked arms with her, and the three of them walked back into the strawberry field, taking the long way back to the cabins.

Nico stared at Leo, so proud of him for being so loyal, but so empty inside because it wasn't him that Leo was being loyal to. He didn't want to think about it. Calypso. The baby. Leo. He just wanted to leave. He was glad that Leo was responsible and kind, but he just wished that Leo was his. He started to speed ahead of Leo, trying to get away, but Leo grabbed him by the arm and held him back.

"Hey."

Nico wouldn't look at him.

"Hey," Leo repeated himself.

Nico shook his head. Leo put both hands on either side of Nico and turned him so that they were face to face.

"Hey, look at me."

Nico did, but he didn't like it. Leo did a little half smile, the way he always did before they kissed. But this time they weren't about to kiss.

"Nico. Calypso and I aren't a thing."

Nico understood, but that didn't change the fact that they had a kid. He was so happy, yet so empty.

Leo shook him. "Nico. Say something."

Nico smiled, then frowned, then panicked. He ran to the dock by the lake, and Leo ran after him.

**Author's Note: **So this chapter is why the story is rated "T". But do not think the purpose of this chapter was Leo and Calypso and how that happened. It was about the baby, and the only reason I included them waking up was so that the readers understood how confused they were and how it was an "accident". Also, I just really wanted a baby in this story (aside from Coach Hedge and Millie's baby).

Valdangelo fluff very soon, my darlings :)

OH AND DID YOU LIKE THE NAME OF THE LAST CHAPTER? It's because of that song "make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other's gold". To Leo, Calypso is silver and Nico is gold. So I named it "And the Other's Imperial Gold."

And can you guess why this chapter is called "Someone New To Love"? (Hint- It's Aggie Phae)


	9. You'll Be Great

Nico

Nico ran through the field, not knowing exactly why. He wanted to get away from Leo. He didn't know why, but he did. Maybe because he loved him and he couldn't help it.

Leo was persistent as he ran after Nico. Nico was panting and sprinting, trying to get rid of Leo. He didn't want to talk to him. When Leo had told him that he and Calypso weren't a thing, Nico hadn't wanted to hear that. He hadn't wanted to hear anything. He had wanted Leo to kiss him. But he hadn't been bold enough to kiss Leo first, and Leo obviously was not in a kissing mood. At least, not around Nico. He obviously didn't mind touching Calypso.

Nico went from confused to furious. His sprint turned into a charge. He imagined his feet driving into the ground and springing off. He was fast. His legs would do all of the work, and the rest of him would enjoy the ride with the wind in his face and the landscape zipping past him. He ran and ran and wouldn't stop running. Leo couldn't keep up.

Eventually, Nico had to choose to turn into another strawberry field, turn towards the lake, or keep running until he reached the pavilion. He made a sharp turn to the lake and kept running, imagining himself as Arion but faster. Leo was thrown off, obviously not good at sharp turns, but he kept running after Nico.

Nico ran all the way to the lake and out onto a dock until he stood at the very end. For the love of Hades, _why _had he come to this dead end?

Leo was still bolting after him. His feet hit the dock and thudded on the boards as he got closer and closer to the end where Nico was standing. He lost control of himself and he couldn't stop running. He tried to stop at the edge but toppled forward where Nico was standing. He landed on top of Nico, who grabbed his shoulders, and they both fell backwards into the lake.

The lake was warm and dark, and there was a second of confusion before Nico reemerged. He popped his head up into the air and spat up water, Leo emerging shortly after. He glared at Leo.

Leo looked horrified. "Nico, I am so sorry, I didn't mean to..." he was cut off by Nico, who swam over to him, put a hand on the back of his head, and kissed him. It was awkward and difficult trying to tread water and kiss at the same time, but they managed. Nico opened his eyes and noticed a little glow from underwater. Leo had accidentally set his hands on fire. How was that even possible?

Leo noticed the flames and quickly closed his fists so that the glow wasn't visible.

"Sorry," he said. "That was just, really, uh... great."

Nico cleared his throat. He could feel the currents that Leo was creating when he tread water, and they were so close together that he was sure his dad could hear his heart beating all the way from the Underworld. Which he was supposed to return to tomorrow. Which would mean leaving Leo. Now that he thought about it, maybe he could stay.

"Why were you running from me if you wanted to kiss me?" Asked Leo.

Nico shook his head. "I don't know, I was confused and I ran and I honestly don't know why. But once I was running, I started thinking, and started feeling things, and I just had to keep running. Sorry."

Leo closed the space between him and Nico and put his hands on his waist. Nico felt shivers all throughout his body. The two kept treading, and Leo's hands on Nico's waist didn't throw off their balance but instead made them steady.

"Nico, _never _apologize for you feelings."

"I'm sorry."

Leo glared at him.

"Come on, man. Stop apologizing for everything. I'm a jerk."

Nico looked into Leo's eyes. "You're not a jerk," he said softly.

Leo blinked. "I... I made a _baby_. With _Calypso_. While I was with you!"  
>"With me?" Nico asked.<p>

Leo pushed a bit of Nico's dark hair back. "With you, and our thing, whatever it is that we're doing. I... I created a kid while that was going on. I don't understand why you don't hate me."

"I could never hate you," said Nico, putting his hands on Leo's shoulders and pressing their mouths together. Leo looked bewildered at first, but then sank into the kiss. Nico was suddenly aware of his clothing pulling him down in the water, and realized he couldn't keep treading. He reluctantly pulled back from the kiss and took Leo's hand, leading him to the edge of the dock, where they held onto the posts and kissed again. When that kiss ended, Nico could see the confusion and hurt in Leo's expression.

"You'll be a great dad," he whispered. "Better than our dads ever were."

Leo opened his mouth to say something, but only a small sound came out. Nico knew what that felt like. It was that feeling where if you have to say something, anything at all, you burst into tears. Nico didn't want to be the trigger for Leo's tears. Or fears. Or anything else. All Nico wanted to be for Leo was his second half. And even though he didn't fully know it, he was.

Nico put a hand under Leo's chin. "Leo. You don't have to say anything if speaking will make you cry. Unless you want to cry. In which case, I'm here."

Leo instantly closed the space between him and Nico and buried his face in Nico's chest, silently heaving, and Nico felt warm because Leo was with him, but sad because he hated to see him like this. It occurred to Nico that Leo was always the one to comfort others. When did anyone comfort Leo? The guy who always smiled deserved someone to cry with. Nico put a hand around Leo and drifted towards a horizontal board connecting the posts of the dock, and pressed his back to it. Then he pulled Leo in even closer and wrapped his arms around him, letting him cry. It was time for the boy who always smiles to have a chance to cry.

"I love you," Nico breathed into Leo's neck. He always thought it would be difficult to tell someone he loved them romantically, but saying it to Leo was as easy as slipping into a warm bathtub. It felt warm and simple, and most importantly, it was true.

Leo didn't say anything back, but his grip on Nico intensified. Nico held him there for about an hour, but it passed easily.

Finally, Leo said "I love you, too."

Nico smiled, wiping a tear from Leo's eye, which was useless because they were in a lake and covered in water.

"I know," he said, grinning just a little.

"You're so smug," Leo laughed.

"So are you."

They admired eachother for a while.

"I'm going to be a dad."

"I know."

"Calypso and our baby need me."

"I know."

"I will be a terrible father."  
>"I know that's not true."<p>

Nico held onto Leo's shoulders firmly. Nico had always been so fragile, but now it was his turn to be strong for someone else who was fragile. He stared into Leo's eyes intensly until Leo cracked a smile. It didn't feel like the old smiles back when they were on the Argo II, when Leo would run around the ship singing loudly or naming things as he passed them. Those were the actual smiles. This one was sad.

Leo kissed Nico's forehead.

"I'm sorry we couldn't be a regular couple," Leo said.

"I'm so thankful we're not," Nico responded.

They helped pull eachother onto the dock. Nico got up first, and then Leo, who fell on top of him as he was getting out. Nico laughed and kissed him, their wet shirts sticking to eachother. Then the shadow traveler and the future father got up and walked back to the cabins together as the sun rose over Camp Half Blood.


	10. Jason's OTP

Percy

Percy floated under the salt water, being with his element and letting the salt water give him energy and strength. Gods, he needed it.

Nico didn't love him. Nico had moved on.

Percy was still trying to process that.

Yes, Percy loved Annabeth, and he wasn't gay. He didn't find Nico attractive, and wouldn't ever become romantically involved with him. But still, it was disappointing to feel special to someone, only to have them disregard you weeks later.

Percy pondered that. Why did he care so much that Nico was with Leo? The two demigods had announced their relationship at breakfast (to the utmost horror of Mr. D and to the delight of Chiron), and for the most part, everyone supported them. It was surprising to find out that they were actually a thing. Yes, Percy had discussed this with Annabeth, but having his suspicions confirmed was a whole different thing. Why was he so shocked? And why did he even care?

Something weird and slimy touched his leg in the water, and he shivered. Everything sounded echoey underwater, and he felt like he was drifting in and out of time and space, except he wasn't. He was just floating near the beach by Camp Half Blood. He loved the ocean, but it was unpredictable and scary at the same time. Maybe that's why he found it so fascinating and wonderful. Afterall, those were the same feelings he had for Nico.

Nico was his ocean.

Yes, he could come to terms with that. He loved Nico like he loved the ocean. To see Nico move on from him only stung because Percy took him for granted and expected the same feelings in return. He shouldn't have. He cursed himself for it.

_Why_ did he have to care about Nico so much? Nobody knew the true depth of Percy's feelings towards him. They were not feelings of romance but feelings of friendship and brotherhood. But it wasn't like Nico was just his brother. It was like Nico was his friend that he couldn't remember swearing to protect but protected anyways. Not everything had to be sworn on for it to happen.

_He's with Leo now,_ Percy thought. _He's happy_.

Percy grinned underwater, the water colliding with his teeth. Nico was happy. That was what he wanted.

_But he doesn't love you anymore._ His grin vanished, and he shut his eyes tight.

Maybe this feeling he had wasn't one of a lost love, but of guilt.

That was it! That was why he cared so much!

He felt guilty because he couldn't love Nico di Angelo.

That night, after they had talked in the stables, Percy had gone to Jason's room. Jason had been cold at first, thinking that Percy was some kind of jerk. As he began to realize the situation, however, he realized that Percy hadn't been eavesdropping, and that he had been kind to Nico. They had talked about the whole thing, and agreed that it was very difficult to handle.

"I wish he hadn't kept it a secret," Percy had said.

"Why aren't people just honest with each other about how they feel?" Jason asked in response.

Percy had thought about that, biting his index finger and squeezing his blue T-shirt. _Why?_ Then it hit him.

"We're scared to love," he had said. "Because to love is to become vulnerable, and we're all to proud for that sort of thing."

Jason had nodded, then stood. When Percy had asked him where he was going, Jason had responded with "I need to tell Piper that."

Percy cringed a little remembering that night. He did everything he could to protect Nico, but he felt like he didn't do enough.

He could feel the guilt in his ears and fingertips, and it seemed to be laced in the saltwater that waltzed around him. He hugged his knees to his chest and sank to the bottom. It was about ten feet deep, and he had no problem staying down. He could control that. The pressure didn't bother him. He could control that, too.

But he couldn't control all of this guilt.

No wonder Nico had forgotten about him and moved on to Leo. Percy had pretty much disregarded him ever since they began that stupid quest to defeat Gaea and restore order to the camps in the first place.

He hated himself for causing his friend so much pain. He sighed, then remembered he was underwater and was met with a mouthful of the atmosphere of Posideon's realm. He choked and swam to the surface, spitting out water and coughing. He looked at the sun, blinked because he was an idiot for looking at something so bright, and then went to look for his equally bright girlfriend.

Annabeth

When Percy found her, she was crying. She didn't know she was crying, of course. She was asleep.

"Annabeth!" She had heard him shout, but he sounded so distant. Tatarus had swept him off somewhere far, and she shouldn't worry about finding him because it was over. The army of monsters closed in on her, and she had no weapon. She screamed with all of the power of her mother and the horrors of the heroes, and it felt like a small person was standing in her lungs and scraping their fingers against them. She kept screaming. She felt herself shaking, and light surrounded her. She realized that Percy had been shaking her. And he really had been calling her name. She blinked and fully exited the nightmare, entering Percy's arms and sobbing.

He held the back of her head with his hand. "When did they start?" He whispered.

"As soon as we got back to camp," she whimpered, wondering if he had been having nightmares, too.

She didn't like feeling weak. She had to be strong and level-headed, not unsure and unstable. She realized that she was shivering. Percy was cold and wet. Had he been swimming?

"Um, seaweed brain?" She sniffed. "You are really cold."

"Sorry!" He said, an alarmed expression flooding his face. He grabbed a blanket off of the bed next to Annabeth's bed where they were sitting and put it over himself, then took Annabeth in his lap and wrapped it around her from behind. She put her head in his shoulder, her face leaning back to look up at the ceiling.

"Thanks," she said.

They sat there in warm silence, and Annabeth felt like all of the stars and planets in the universe were no longer weighing her down. She was with Percy, and she could be calm and collected as long as she had him.

"So why are you here?" She asked.

Percy looked alarmed and ashamed, as if he hadn't been prepared for that question.

"Why do you need to ask if I'm here?" He questioned. "Is it really so surprising that your boyfriend wants to spend time with you?"

She raised an eyebrow at him and he sighed.

"I don't know how you do that. You always know whether I'm here to be randomly romantic or to seek advice. It's seriously freaky. Kind of hot, but freaky."

She responded with a smirk.

"I'm feeling guilty about Nico," he confessed.

_Oh_, Annabeth thought.

"Percy, I don't know how to handle this. We've been over this before. I might be smart, but I'm just as good as everyone else at handling emotions. The only thing I can say to you is that Nico is happy and you did your best. He didn't move on because you were a jerk to him; he moved on because he found someone who loved him."

Percy nodded, absentmindedly rubbing his hand in circles on her knee. She snuggled her head further into his shoulder, trying to comfort the boy who was trying to comfort her.

"It's really incredible how much you care about him," said Annabeth.

Percy laughed bitterly. "I care about everyone."

Annebeth lifted her head and shifted so that her face was inches away from Percy's.

"Percy, you may care about everyone, but not because you have to. Because you actually do care about them. You are the most genuine person I know."

Percy gave her a little half smile but didn't look convinced.

"Percy, you've got to trust me. Why do you think I've stuck with you this long? Because to be honest, you are a huge idiot otherwise."

That actually made him laugh, and he kissed her shoulder.

_Good_, Annabeth thought. _I've actually begun to heal him._

She then smiled and put her hand on Percy's, and decided to let him heal her.

Jason

Yes! Nico and Leo! Finally!

Jason sat in a field with Piper in silence, both of them thinking.

Jason, of course, was thinking about the new couple that had been announced at breakfast this morning.

Jason had honestly shipped them the minute he found out that Nico was gay. They were both misfits, and they both needed someone. And to be honest, they were both HUGE GAY. Well, Leo was bi, but still, HUGE GAY.

This was great. Jason could finally stop spending every minute worrying about how Percy could hurt Nico. And now, Nico had someone else to go to. Nico di Angelo was no longer his responsibility. Honestly, Jason didn't mind being Nico's confidant, and in fact, he was flattered that Nico trusted him so much. But now, he didn't have to constantly worry about Nico getting hurt, and it was great.

Leico? Valdangelo? Jason pondered their ship name as he sat in the field with Piper, braiding leaves of grass.

Despite the wonderful responses to Nico and Leo being a couple, nobody was prepared for the announcement that Calypso and Leo were going to make at the campfire that night.

Frank

Everyone had sort of gotten back into their old routine. By around noon, everyone had worked out their conflicts and actually settled in, and they had then spent their day training like they always had.

Training at Camp Half Blood was WAY different for training at Camp Jupiter. It was more fun, chaotic, and dangerous. Percy and Annabeth had sword fought for hours, giving each other pointers and working on technique. Piper had been learning a little archery from Chiron. Jason had had fun with the Hephaestus kids making and racing chariots. Leo, of course, was included in the chariot shenanigans, and was constantly getting on Jason's case for making things wrong, to which Jason would roll his eyes because they got on each other's nerves and they were best friends. Nico had vanished somewhere, but Frank had seen him at the edge of the forest once with his stygian iron sword. Maybe he was fighting monsters. Who knew. Calypso had been hanging out with some Naiads, and they already seemed to be best friends. As for Frank and Hazel, they had tackled the rock climbing wall. It was massive, and it spurted lava. Boulders would occasionally fall from it, and sometimes, as you grabbed a hold, it would vanish into the wall,causing you to fall. Hazel was small and fit and easily darted up the wall. Frank, however, was big and uncoordinated, and felt embarassed every time Hazel would look down at him from above. He just kept struggling up the wall. Eventually, he got the hang of it, and both he and Hazel had succeeded in getting a great workout in. Sure, Frank had been scolded by his girlfriend a few times for turning into a lizard and scurrying up the wall, but other then that they did really well.

Now, he held Hazel's hand and they sat in front of a beautiful camp fire. They sang campfire songs with the rest of the demigods, like "99 Bottles of Nectar on the Wall" and "On Top of Old Olympus". Hazel, for someone who was belting out the words loudly and without thought, actually had a really pretty voice. At first, Frank hadn't sung at all. But with his girlfriend singing loudly, giving him encouraging looks and squeezing his hand, he eventually sang along quietly with a smile. After a few more songs, he grew louder. And then he sang even louder. Finally, he was singing as loudly as Hazel was, and the whole camp was a beautiful sound of happiness.

They sang demigod nursery rhymes, like "Polyphemus Had a little Lamb."

They sang popular mortal songs with their own Camp Half Blood twists, like "Just Give me Elysium" by P!nk and "Summertime Solstice" by Lana Del Ray.

Demigods were really awful singers. Frank loved it.

After about two hours of the crazy, frantic, joyful singing, Chiron held up his hand. Everyone stopped singing, wondering what Chiron had to say.

"It seems that we have, erm, a request. From a few demigods. They are requesting that you allow them to make an announcement. I assume that you will treat them with the utmost respect and give them your full attention. I myself have no idea what this is about. However, I will allow them to speak."

Leo appeared in front of the campfire and shook Chiron's hand. Calypso, Grover, some girl from the Aphrodite cabin, and Nico all joined him, with Grover with his arm around Calypso and Leo and Nico holding hands.

The girl from Aphrodite stepped forward.

"Camp Half Blood is a growing place," she began.

Frank wondered, for the billionth time since he had known these people, what the _heck_ was going on.

"And new people enter it constantly. There will be a new demigod at Camp Half Blood soon."

There were a few murmers.

"Except this one is special. This demigod is the child of a goddess and a demigod, so its more of a three-fourths god. Don't worry, it won't be THAT powerful, because it's mother is only the goddess of an island and all of the nymphs that live there, and the daughter of a Titan. She isn't a major goddess. Still, this is more than a demigod that is on the way."

Frank could have sworn he saw Calypso scowl at that.

"So you might be wondering when this demigod will arrive. The answer to that question is roughly nine months."

Frank saw Hazel's eyes widen, and he wondered why. Then it hit him.

"And you might be wondering where this demigod is right now. The answer to that question is roughly right here," said the Aphrodite girl, putting a hand at the bottom of Calypso's stomach.

There were a few gasps.

Clarrise pointed at Calypso angrily. "_Really_? Really. So now I bet she expects us to take care of her. Hah! Whose the dad?"

Leo raised his hand that Nico was holding, consequentially making Nico raise his hand, too.

"So you're _both_ the dads?!"  
>"No, no!" Shouted Leo. "Just me. I'm the dad."<p>

Chiron stepped forward. "I am so sorry about all of this." He whisked the demigods away, and Frank watched them vanish into the old farm house. He felt a pit in his stomach on his friends' behalfs.

Then everyone began to argue, except for Frank, Hazel, Piper, Jason, Percy, and Annabeth, who all exchanged looks not knowing how to process any of it.

**Author's Note:** Nico and Leo are Jason's OTP! Anyways, I don't know if the next chapter should be a conclusion and summary, or if I should do that whole "nine months later" thing. Or if I should put the raising of Aggie Phae Valdez in an entirely seperate fanfic. (I would be able to write more, and focus on just that rather than everyone else. Besides, it would dominate the story if I included it in this one, whereas this story was originally just supposed to be what happens after Nico gets out). I really want to put Aggie Phae Valdez in a new story and start from there. (Fear not, the end to this one shall be epic! I may even continue with Aggie Phae in this one)

What should I do?

Idk. **JASON SHIPS NICO AND LEO SO SO HARD.**


	11. Strawberry Baby

Nico

The months leading up to the birth were exhausting. Leo was always worried about Calypso, and sometimes Nico would find clumps of Leo's hair in the bathroom sink where he had been pulling it out from stress.

Nico and Leo had begun to share a cabin. Normally, Nico didn't stay at Camp Half Blood for very long, but now he had Leo. Because there weren't any other children of Hades aside from Hazel, who was technically the daughter of Pluto, Nico's cabin was practically empty. Hazel didn't even stay in the Hades cabin. She still stayed in her room on the _Argo II_, which sat in the woods outside of Bunker 9. Leo had begun to stay in the Hades cabin with Nico. It was always dark in there, which Nico thought Leo wouldn't like. Leo had adapted though, and he made the dark cabin bright.

Seeing his bright friend in such a worried state made Nico sad. Leo didn't do well under pressure.

Well, he could make, fix, and invent things of exceptional quality under pressure, but _this_ kind of pressure... this was just different. This had to do with human beings, not machines.

Nico didn't let on that he noticed, but sometimes late at night Leo would cry. Nico always wanted to slip into bed with him and wrap his arms around him and tell him everything would be alright, but of course he wouldn't do that. He was incredibly shy, even around his boyfriend. He loathed himself for it.

Still, he was supportive in the little ways that he could be.

He would occasionally shadow travel into nearby towns and buy baby supplies. He would also buy orange soda, which Leo liked. It calmed him down.

He would write nice little notes on scrap pieces of paper and put them under Leo's pillow. Things like "I liked the toy robot you accidentally built today" or "It's cute when you get grease stains on your forehead." Nothing too corny or sweet, just little things. Nico was good at little things.

When Leo would toss and turn from nightmares, Nico would make sure he woke up to an old black-and-white movie playing and some fluffy blankets. He was always too nervous to wake Leo, but he could ensure his comfort when he awoke.

Nico found that taking care of Leo was like carrying laundry if Leo had the basket. Leo would go about, carrying a heavy load, and Nico would trail behind, picking up the socks he dropped. If Leo tripped and fell, Nico would help him pick up the basket and help him carry on. Reassuring Leo was exactly like laundry.

Leo never kissed him anymore. Sometimes, if it was a good day, Nico would kiss Leo on the cheek. They hadn't _actually_ kissed in a while, because Nico was too timid to try and Leo was too busy to notice.

Still, Nico was determined to be there for Leo, even if Leo was slipping out of his reach.

Annabeth

Good Gods, Annabeth thought preparing for a baby was chaotic, and it wasn't even _her_ baby. Leo and Calypso would definitely make interesting parents.

Annabeth spent most of her time in camp classes thinking about the little family. A son of Hephaestus, a minor goddess, and a child of a demigod and a goddess. Wow.

She thought about them when she did archery.

She thought about them when she was on the canoe lake.

She thought about them when she climbed the rock wall.

The Valdez family consumed her thoughts.

Yes, demigods _always _made mistakes, but this was a whole new level of making mistakes. This was accidentally creating a human being. Annabeth was glad that she and Percy wouldn't be doing that, at least not anytime soon. They kept things simple. Simple was good.

She felt sorry for Calypso. Calypso had arrived at a camp of people she didn't know, only to announce that she had accidentally gotten pregnant. It hadn't been exactly flattering to her character. Annabeth didn't judge her. It hadn't even occurred to her to judge Calypso. She just felt sorry for her.

On the bright side, Calypso was actually really cool. She was a little flirty and stubborn, but so were most of the Aphrodite campers (with the brilliant exception of Piper). Despite her little flaws, she was smart. She was smarter than she let on, actually. When Annabeth was designing things for Olympus, Calypso would watch over her shoulder and occasionally point things out Annabeth failed to notice, like a miscalculation here, or an arch that didn't match a curve somewhere else there. But she wasn't obnoxious with her intelligence; she was quiet and kept it concealed. Calyspo was great at canoeing, and all of the nymphs adored her. She sang the loudest at camp fires, and she was pretty good at painting. She fit into the camp, even though some of the other campers looked down on her because of the baby.

Annabeth didn't look down on her in the slightest. In a way, she looked up to Calypso.

Annabeth pondered these things while she absentmindedly flipped through the pages of an architecture book that Percy had found for her, when all of a sudden there was a knock at the door.

"Come in!" She called without looking up.

Hazel stepped into the room.

"Hey," she said, tucking her hair behind her ear, only to have it fall back into place.

"Hey, Hazel!" Said Annabeth cheerily, wondering why Hazel was here. Hazel was awesome, but wasn't generally one to randomly seek out Annabeth.

"Hi, um... could we talk?"

"Sure!" Annabeth closed her book and moved over on her bed so that Hazel could have room to sit. Hazel brushed her lap and sat down, fidgeting with the ends of her wild hair.

"I had a conversation," she said quietly.

"With who?" Annabet asked casually.

"Reyna."

Annabeth took a deep breath. She had been expecting this. Hazel continued. "Look, Annabeth, these past few months have been great. I've fully recovered from the quest, and so have the other Romans, Jason and Frank. We've all grown to love this camp and the people in it, but..."

"...but this isn't your home," Annabeth finished for her.

Hazel nodded, not meeting her eyes.

"Frank says he loves me. I love him, too. We want to walk the streets of New Rome together, under the columns and arches with music playing and the smells of things baking floating through the air. Camp Half Blood is a wonderful home, but Camp Jupiter is _our_ home."

Annabeth understood.

"Why did you decide to stay this long?" She asked curiously. Hazel shrugged.

"I didn't want to seperate from my new friends right away. As for Frank and Jason, they have their own reasons for staying this long. But for me, it's the campers."

Annabeth's heart felt warm.

"Hazel Levesque, I am honored on behalf of every camper here." She smiled at her friend.

"It's time for me to go home with Frank," Hazel said.

Annabeth nodded.

"But... there's the baby," Hazel added.

_The baby?_

"You mean Leo and Calypso's baby?" Annabeth asked. Hazel nodded.

"We want to be here for our friends as they begin a new chapter in their lives. We will stay until the baby is born, and then we will go back to Camp Jupiter. That's where we belong."

"You are so wonderful, Hazel," said Annabeth, pulling her friend into a hug. "Camp Jupiter is lucky to have you."

Hazel hugged her back, and Annabeth promised herself to remember this moment when Hazel, Frank, and Jason left Camp Half Blood.

Leo

Leo bounced on his feet, not knowing what to do with himself. What did normal people do with themselves? How was their posture? How did they stand still? What did they do with their hands? Leo kept fidgeting with things he absentmindedly pulled from his tool belt and bounced from foot to foot, staring at drawings pinned to the walls of Bunker 9.

_I'm going to be a dad. I'm going to be a dad. I'm going to be a dad._

"Hey, Leo," said a female voice, so unexpected Leo yelped and jumped a foot in the air. He turned to see Calypso, who giggled.

He sighed. "Hey, don't scare me like that."

She playfully punched his arm. "Sorry, Valdez. I do that."

Leo laughed a little, and looked at his feet. Lately, talking to Calypso had been awkard. He couldn't meet her eyes anymore. Not now, when he could see her stomach beginning to bulge.

"I brought you flowers," she said, and she held out her hand. Crumpled in her fist were some droopy dandelions.

_Those aren't flowers, those are weeds_, Leo thought, and he laughed a little to himself. He thought it was cute.

"Thanks," he said cheerily, slipping the weeds into his tool belt.

Calypso nodded. "So what are you looking at?" She asked, regarding the drawings.

"Oh, um..." Leo scratched the back of his head. He hadn't been looking at anything in particular, just abandoned projects. He hadn't even been thinking, just wandering. "Nothing," he responded.

Calypso hopped upon a tool table and sat there like it was her throne. She pointed her bare toes and studied them as if they were greatly interesting. Her white dress was spread around her like a cloud.

Leo looked at her, but she wouldn't look at him. She just stared at her toes and smiled a little.

Finally, he just turned back to the projects on the walls and ignored her presence.

"Don't ignore me," She said after he turned around.

Leo turned back to face her.

"Well you weren't saying anything, so I figured I'd just..."

"Leo, if I didn't want to talk I wouldn't be here."

"Then say something."

Leo studied Calypso, wishing she would stop playing games.

"I don't like Nico," she finally admitted.

She might as well have slapped him in the face.

Leo instantly felt defensive.

"And why is that?" He demanded.

"I don't know. He's creepy."

Leo couldn't help it. His hands burst into flames.

"How DARE you. You know nothing about him."

"I know that he's the son of Hades. And he's creepy. You aren't a cute couple."

"Calypso, so help me..."

Leo couldn't even think straight. He was fuming.

"Nico di Angelo is the most wonderful person I know, and how DARE you say otherwise. His intelligence and selflessness are incredible. I can't tell you how many times he's saved me on quests. But not just me. He's saved practically everyone at some point or other, even you."

"Me?"  
>"He helped us stop Gaea. If we hadn't stopped Gaea, everyone would either be dead or enslaved. That includes you, princess."<p>

Calypso scowled. "Don't call me princess."

"Don't call my boyfriend creepy."

"Stop calling him your boyfriend!"

"Well what else would he be to me?"

"Um, I don't know, maybe your friend?"

"Yeah, my friend that I love and happen to makeout with all the time."

"Ew."

"Hey, I've kissed you before. And tell our daughter "ew". Because how do you think _she_ got here?"

Calypso crossed her arms. "Do not bring my daughter into this."

"_Our_ daughter."

"Whatever. Okay, other than being good at quests, what is Nico good for?"

The flames in Leo's hands burned even brighter anger.

"He loves me, for Gods' sakes! Even when he found out about our baby, he stuck with me! He forgave me! Because he's a forgiving, loving person. Maybe he struggles with sadness and doubts within himself, but that doesn't stop him from being nothing but supportive of other people!"

Leo's eyes began to water with rage. He couldn't believe someone could say such mean things about Nico. He just couldn't.

"Nico brought Hazel back from the underworld. Don't tell me you don't like Hazel."  
>"Hazel's cool," Calypso replied.<p>

"And Nico, too. Right?"

"Whatever."

"Calypso. I don't care if you don't like Nico. But _never_ say anything bad about him. Because I love him. He's comforted me throughout this whole baby thing. He got supplies for us. He helps me when I have nightmares. He's always been there for me. I would literally die for him."

"Why don't you tell him that?"

"I..." Leo faltered. Why didn't he? "I don't know. I guess I don't want to scare him."

"You didn't."

"What?"

Calypso whistled. "Nico, come on out!"

Nico crawled out from under the table Calypso was sitting on. His face was redder than the fresh strawberries from the strawberry fields, and he wouldn't look at Leo.

Calypso turned to Nico. "I told you you had nothing to worry about. He doesn't have feelings for me anymore. This boy loves you."

Leo gaped at them. He couldn't believe what they had done. "You guys..."

Calypso laughed. "Don't get mad at Nico. Get mad at me. I dragged him into this. And for the record, I don't think Nico's creepy. He's great. You two are a sweet couple." She hopped down from the table and planted a kiss on Leo's cheek. "Sorry to scare you." She smiled and walked out of Bunker 9, leaving the two boys alone.

Nico hugged his arms to his chest. "She made me do that. I swear..."

"Don't worry about it, man. I believe you." And he did. This was totally something Calypso would do. Man, Leo would never understand that girl. Then he laughed a little. "So have I scared you off now?"

Nico gave him a little half smile. "Nah." He grabbed Leo and hugged him tightly. Relieved, Leo hugged him back.

Nobody's Point of View in Particular

It happened on a bright day in June (it was the fifth, to be exact) in the middle of a ripening strawberry field. Calypso's head rested in the lap of her baby's father, and her baby's godfather (who happened to be the baby's father's boyfriend) held her hand. It took six hours. Aggie-Phae Summer Valdez was entering the world.

"Come on, Calypso! You got this!" Annabeth encouraged. Aside from Annabeth, Chiron, Grover, Leo, and Nico, nobody else was around to witness the birth. They hadn't put Calypso in the Big House because it might frighten other campers who went there with wounds. Instead, they decided to put her in the privacy of a clearing in a strawberry field. Calypso had wanted the baby's name to be Aggie Phae Valdez. Leo had pushed her to add a hyphen between Aggie and Phae so that it would be one name so that her middle name could be Summer. He had told her that he wanted Summer to be a part of her name for the season she was born in. Summer was the warmest, brightest season, and they knew their daughter would be just as warm and bright. So her name was Aggie-Phae Summer Valdez. Aggie for the _Argo II_, Phae for Hephaestus, Summer for her father's favorite season, and Valdez for her father's last name.

Leo

Honestly, Leo wanted to throw up. He hated this whole process. He couldn't look at it. Instead, he focused on Calypso's head in his lap. Her face glistened with sweat and her cheeks were red and splotchy. A few strands of cinnamon colored hair stuck to her forehead, and she pinched her eyes together when she screamed. He placed both hands around her head and moved his thumbs along the sides of her face. She kept screaming, and Leo couldn't look. _Focus on her face. Nothing but her face, _he thought. Although her face wasn't the most pleasant thing to look at. He hated to watch her contort such a beautiful face into such pained expressions. And he hated that he was the reason why she was in so much pain in this exact moment.

Leo was very aware of Nico holding Calypso's hand and murmuring encouraging things to her. It made his heart tingle at how gentle Nico was. It always amazed him how such a dark, powerful person could be so soft and good-hearted.

Grover knelt opposite of Nico, holding Calypso's other hand and telling her he loved her. Calypso had never told them that it was Grover who she had fallen for, but after putting the pieces together, everyone had figured it out. And nobody minded because they were sweet.

Annabeth and Chiron helped to actually deliver the baby, and they seemed so calm and confident that it left Leo in a state of awe. He would have thrown up if he had to do anything like that. Jeez.

Finally, the six-hour delivery was complete. Calypso shut her eyes and breathed hard, and Leo kissed her forehead.

"I am so proud of you," he whispered.

She was already asleep. Then the silence was broken by the very first cry of Aggie-Phae Summer Valdez.

Aggie-Phae weighed eight pounds and six ounces. Her eyes were bright blue, which was odd because neither of her parents had blue eyes. They were brilliant. She had dark tufts of black hair all over her tiny head. Her hands and feet were tiny and curled, and she was warm when Leo held her.

He sat in a rocking chair in front of the big house with his daughter in his arms. Calypso was napping in Chiron's office, and Grover was with her. Leo's friends relaxed on the porch with him. Hazel was braiding Piper's hair, Annabeth was reading something, Percy leaned against a post and played with Riptide, and Jason and Frank were playing some kind of game where you hold hands and slap the other persons hand and try not to pull away. Ouch. Nico stood behind Leo's rocking chair and pushed him back and forth slowly. Leo enjoyed it, and he was pretty sure his daughter did, too.

"You're a father, man," said Percy. He smiled, but it wasn't just one of those "I'm saying congratulations because I have to" smiles. It was one of those smiles you did when you saw something beautiful.

"I know," said Leo, although he couldn't really process it. All he knew was that he loved the little girl in his arms.

"So who gets Aggie?" Asked Annabeth.

"Aggie-_Phae_," Leo corrected her. Annabeth rolled her eyes. "And Calypso will be staying at camp with us, so we can raise her together. If either of us goes on a quest, Aggie-Phae will stay with the parent who remains at camp. It's really simple. When we're adults, we can try to live at Camp Jupiter and raise her there. We might not live together, but we can switch off. And we can still act like we're a regular family. We can bake cookies as a family and feed pigeons and do whatever picture-perfect families do. Honestly, we kind of already are a family."

Was it just him, or did Nico tense up behind him? The rocking of the chair became slightly irregular.

Hazel took a break from braiding Piper's hair. "I hate to ask this, but what about Grover and Nico?"

Yep, Nico definitely did tense up.

"What about them?" Leo asked. "If things go well, they'll live at Camp Jupiter, too."

"Yeah, but won't it be difficult for Aggie..."

"Aggie-_Phae._"

"Whatever. Won't it be difficult for her to feel like she lives in a picture-perfect family if she has two sets of parents?"

"Not really. It just means she had two sets of parents that love her."

Aggie-Phae made a soft gurgling sound. Leo thought it was beautiful.

He sounded calm and collected, but he secretly wished that his daughter could have a regular family. It really sucked that he had to love Nico so much, and that Calypso just had to be in love with Grover, and that Leo and Calypso were destined to not end up with each other. He didn't regret having a baby, though. He loved that baby with all of his heart.

Leo realized that Nico had stopped rocking him altogether.

He hugged Aggie-Phae to his chest and stood, then walked around the rocking chair and stood next to Nico. Their shoulders leaned on eachother. After a while, Nico un-tensed.

"Could I hold her?" Nico asked shyly.

"Dude! Of course! You're her godfather." Leo passed his daughter into his boyfriend's arms. It made his heart flutter to see how gentle Nico was with Aggie-Phae.

Everyone watched with warm hearts as Nico cradled the warm little lump of life in his arms.

Then a flame shot up from the bundle of blankets at his face, and he cried out in surprise. He still held tightly onto the baby, but his hair was definitely on fire. Percy summoned some water from a glass that had been sitting on the railing and sent it flying towards Nico's hair. The fire went out and the water vanished.

"Um, thanks," Nico said, his eyes wide as he stared at the child in his arms.

"That's my girl!" Leo whooped. "That's my daughter! Yeah!"

**Author's Note: **Aggie-Phae Summer Valdez is a fire user! And her name is almost as long as Reyna's! :D

More chapters soon. Slay some monsters, babes! See ya!


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